A United States-based Nigerian, Ifeanyi Ozoh, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for orchestrating a $6 million bribery and kickback scheme targeting the Medicaid insurance program.
The U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane also ordered Ozoh, 54, to pay $4.9 million in restitution to Medicaid and serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
The sentencing was confirmed by U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani in a statement published on the Department of Justice’s website on Wednesday.
Ozoh, a resident of Houston, Texas, was found guilty of paying bribes to marketers to secure Medicaid patients for Floss Family Dentalcare Centre, where he worked.
The patients were fraudulently referred under the pretence of receiving dental treatment. The clinic subsequently submitted false claims to Medicaid, billing the insurance program over $6 million and receiving $4 million in reimbursements.
Testimony during the trial revealed that Ozoh paid marketers between $20 and $100 for every Medicaid-insured child referred to Floss. Witnesses described clandestine transactions, with Ozoh reportedly placing illegal cash kickbacks on vending machines to avoid detection.
“One clinic manager testified that she repeatedly warned Ozoh about the illegality of paying marketers,” the U.S. Attorney’s statement disclosed.
After a three-day trial in February, a federal jury took just one hour to convict Ozoh on all counts of conspiracy and kickback violations.
The overwhelming evidence presented at trial included records of over $163,000 in bribes paid to marketers and bonuses Ozoh received for meeting patient quotas.
From 2020 to 2021, the clinic billed Medicaid millions of dollars for dental services, many of which were never provided.
Ozoh has been allowed to remain on bond and will voluntarily surrender to a Bureau of Prisons facility at a later date.
The U.S. Attorney emphasized the judgment as a warning against Medicaid fraud, reaffirming the government’s commitment to protecting public resources and holding violators accountable.
Nigerian man jailed six years in U.S for $6m medicaid fraud