Five Individuals Charged in Detroit for Alleged Roles in $24.7 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

FourAdditional Defendants were Previously Charged for Their Roles in the Scheme
WASHINGTON—Five individuals were chargedin court documents unsealed today in the Eastern District of Michigan for theirparticipation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving purported home health andpsychotherapy services, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI, and theDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS).
According to court documents, the schemeallegedly involved a total of more than $24.7 million in fraudulent claimssubmitted to Medicare for purported home health care and psychotherapy servicesthat were medically unnecessary and/or never provided.
Court documents allege that thedefendants are operators, employees, and marketers associated with home healthcare and psychotherapy clinics operating in and around Detroit. Defendantscharged in court documents unsealed today include: Mohammed Sadiq, 65, Troy,Michhigan.; Jamella Al-Jumail, 23, of Brownstown, Michigan; Firas Alky, 40, ofShelby Township, Michigan; Clarence Cooper, 53, of Detroit; and Beverly Cooper,58, of Detroit.
Four defendants charged in thesuperseding indictment were previously charged and arrested in May 2012 fortheir roles in the scheme. Defendants previously charged include: SachinSharma, 36, of Shelby Township; Dana Sharma, 29, of Shelby Township; AbdulMalik Al-Jumail, aka Tony, 52, of Brownstown; Felicar Williams, 49, ofDearborn, Michigan.
The superseding indictment charges alldefendants with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; SachinSharma with five counts of health care fraud; Sachin Sharma, Abdul MalikAl-Jumail, Williams, Sadiq, Alky, and Clarence Cooper with one count ofconspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks; and Jamella Al-Jumail withone count of destruction of records in a federal investigation. The supersedingindictment also seeks forfeiture from all defendants.
According to the superseding indictment,from January 2007 through April 2012, the defendants operated a large networkof purported home health care and psychotherapy companies in the Detroit areathrough which they conspired to defraud Medicare.
According to court documents, SachinSharma, Dana Sharma, Abdul Malik Al-Jumail, Williams, Jamella Al-Jumail, Sadiq,Alky, and other alleged co-conspirators incorporated home health care,psychotherapy, and other medical service companies to carry out the scheme,including Reliance Home Care LLC; First Choice Home Health Care Services Inc.;Associates in Home Care Inc.; Haven Adult Day Care Center LLC; Swift Home CareLLC; ABC Home Care Inc.; Accessible Home Care Inc.; and Be Well Home Care LLC.The defendants, along with co-conspirators, allegedly submitted Medicareenrollment applications to permit these companies to bill Medicare. SachinSharma, Abdul Malik-Al-Jumail, Sadiq, Alky, and others allegedly paid kickbacksand bribes to recruiters, including Williams and Clarence Cooper, to obtainMedicare beneficiaries’ information, which could be used to fraudulently billMedicare for purported services provided by the companies they operated andcontrolled. The defendants then allegedly caused these companies to billMedicare for home health and psychotherapy services, even though these serviceswere not medically necessary and were often not provided.
According to the superseding indictment,the defendants caused Reliance, First Choice, Associates, Haven, Swift, ABC,Accessible, and other home health, psychotherapy, and medical servicescompanies to submit approximately $24.7 million in claims to Medicare forservices that were medically unnecessary and/or not provided. In addition,Jamella Al-Jumail is charged with destroying records relating to Accessible’sMedicare billings upon learning of the May 2012 arrest of Abdul MalikAl-Jumail, her co-conspirator, and father.
Clarence and Beverly Cooper, Sadiq, andJamella Al-Jumail were arrested yesterday.
The case is being prosecuted by FraudSection Assistant Chief Gejaa T. Gobena and Trial Attorney William G. Kanellis.The investigations were conducted jointly by the FBI and HHS-OIG as part of theMedicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for theEastern District of Michigan and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007,strike force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,330defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $4billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, workingin conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountabilityand decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health CareFraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.