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HOUSTON – A federal jury in Houston has found a 65-year-old Houston man guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to United States Attorney Jennifer B.
The jury deliberated for three hours before convicting Abdul Audu Azia Ozigi after a three-day trial.
At trial, her accomplice, Margaret Aris, testified that she owned several home health agencies in the Houston area. She said they hired Ozigi to act as a physician to see patients at their homes.
Ozigi was not licensed to practice medicine in the United States and was not under the supervision of a physician when treating patients.
Aris further testified that Ozzigi visited patients and qualified them for home health, even though they did not actually need services. Employers are also paid to provide patient information to pay for home health services regardless of whether they need care.
The 63-year-old from Aris, Missouri, was previously charged and is currently awaiting sentencing.
At trial, Ozigi tried to convince jurors that he had no knowledge of the fraud and no intent to defraud Medicare. He testified that he was only seeing patients for Aris, despite having no medical license in the United States and not being supervised by a physician.
The jury did not believe the defense’s claims and found Ozigi guilty of the charges.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner presided over the hearing and will issue a sentence at a later date. At that time, Ozigi faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Ozigi, who was previously released on bond, was remanded in custody today following his guilty plea.
The Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Southwest UPIC Qlarant and the FBI conducted the investigation. U.S. Attorneys Tina Ansari and Grace Murphy, assisted by paralegal Judith Cardona, prosecuted the case.
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