Court documents were unsealed this week charging 23 Michigan residents for their alleged involvement in two illegal schemes to defraud Medicare of more than $61.5 million by paying kickbacks and bribes and billing Medicare for unnecessary medical services that were never provided.
According to court documents, Walid Jamil, 62, and Jalal Jamil, 69, both of Oakland County, owned and operated several home health agencies in the Detroit metropolitan area. They allegedly concealed their ownership interest in these agencies using straw owners — including family members and other associates — and submitted approximately $50 million in fraudulent home healthcare claims to Medicare. Specifically, Walid and Jalal Jamil allegedly paid bribes to other co-conspirators to recruit patients in violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. These patients did not need home healthcare, did not qualify for home healthcare under Medicare rules, and in many instances were not actually provided the care for which Medicare was billed. Walid and Jalal Jamil allegedly entered into quid pro quo relationships with physician clinics to receive the necessary information to fraudulently bill Medicare. Based on their fraudulent claims, Walid and Jalal Jamil received more than $43 million from Medicare, which they misappropriated for their personal benefit.
