A Houston-based Nigerian man, Ifeanyi Ozoh, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for masterminding a $6 million Medicaid bribery scheme.
The 54-year-old conspired to funnel kickbacks through marketers to secure fraudulent Medicaid referrals to a non-existent clinic, Floss Family Dentalcare Centre, prosecutors revealed. The scheme enabled Ozoh and the clinic to submit fake claims, raking in over $4 million in illegal payouts.
Ozoh must repay $4.9 million in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release after completing his sentence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Testimony during the trial exposed how Ozoh paid marketers $20 to $100 per patient, often in cash, sometimes discreetly placing payments on top of vending machines near the clinic. A manager at Floss repeatedly warned him about the illegal kickbacks, but Ozoh persisted, paying out over $163,000 in bribes between 2020 and 2021.
Federal Judge Randy Crane, citing overwhelming evidence of guilt, handed down the sentence, allowing Ozoh to remain on bond until he surrenders to the Bureau of Prisons.
