Houston Medicare Fraud Indictments
Seven individuals in the Houston area have been indicted in connection with an alleged Medicare fraud scheme, as reported by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjay.
Among those arrested are Hattie Banks, 49, from Humble; Lydia Oberle, 59; and Cheryl Brooks, 64, both from Houston; as well as Ena Cowart, 50, from Missouri City. These new arrests add to the previously detained suspects, including Della Ogudo, 40, and Victoria Martinez, 36, from Richmond, along with Evelyn Shaw, 52, also from Houston.
A 43-count superseding indictment filed on October 5 charges these individuals with conspiring to bill Medicare and Medicaid over $110 million for hospice services provided to patients who were not terminally ill. Prosecutors allege that Ogudo and Martinez operated a business, United Parallelative and Hospice Company (UPHC), which misled patients and their families about treatment costs billed to the government.
According to court documents, UPHC’s marketing team informed beneficiaries that they qualified for hospice care even if they did not. The indictment accuses Ogudo of paying kickbacks to those who helped enroll patients, including owners of group homes, and providing referral fees to Shaw, the discharge coordinator. There’s also suspicion that Ogudo bribed doctors to certify patients as terminally ill and to have them recertified.
Following an investigation that included a raid on UPHC, the indictment claims that Ogudo and Martinez created new companies under straw ownership—Residential Hospice and Cedar Hospice—to continue their alleged illegal activities. Prosecutors believe that Ogudo laundered Medicare payments through accounts linked to Martinez and others to hide his involvement.
The charges they’ve faced encompass conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, numerous counts of healthcare fraud, conspiracy to provide and accept kickbacks, as well as violations of anti-kickback laws.
Ogudo also faces 14 charges related to financial transactions involving criminal proceeds, with both her and Martinez confronting additional charges related to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Many of the offenses could result in sentences of up to ten years in prison, while the money laundering conspiracy charge might carry a penalty of up to twenty years. Each conviction could result in fines up to $250,000.
