The US District Court of Central District of California has sentenced a Nigerian, Ayodeji Fatunmbi, to four years in prison for defrauding the United States government of up to $8.3 million Medicare charges.
According to the US Department of Justice, Mr Fatunmbi was handed his sentence on August 19 after being found guilty in a jury trial on July 31, 2014.
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The 47-year-old was extradited to the US in October 2018 based on the ruling of a Federal High Court.
He was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering.
Justice Christiana Snyder ordered Fatunmbi to pay nearly $1.1 million in restitution to the US government.
Among his admissions to the court, Fatunmi said he paid bribes to patient recruiters and physicians for fraudulent prescriptions for durable medical equipment (DME), including power wheelchairs, which the Medicare beneficiaries did not have a legitimate medical need.
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Also named in the fraud as conspirators were Olufunke Fadojutimi, 47, of Carson, California; and Maritza Elizabeth Velasquez, 44, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ms Velasquez pleaded guilty in 2013 and was jailed for 15 months. She was also asked to pay restitution in excess of $3.4 million.
