The owner of a Michigan home health company was sentenced to three years and five months in prison for his role in a $7.9 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Muhammad Zafar, 53, along with three physicians and two other home healthcare company owners, offered kickbacks, bribes and other inducements to recruiters in exchange for beneficiary information, according to a Nov. 15 Justice Department news release. Mr. Zafar and his co-conspirators used the information to bill Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary and not provided.
On the same day as his initial appearance in 2015, Mr. Zafar violated his court-issued bond, crossed the international border to Canada, and then flew to Pakistan. He remained an international fugitive for more than seven years before returning to the U.S. to face his charges.
He pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud. He admitted to submitting approximately $393,500 in fraudulent claims to Medicare.