A federal jury convicted a Texas couple, Lindell King and Ynedra Diggs, for a $1 million Medicare fraud scheme. The husband and wife owned and operated group homes in which Medicare beneficiaries lived. King and Diggs had an agreement with Behavioral Medicine of Houston (BMH) to send patients to their mental health center in return for kickbacks paid under the guise of transportation or other fabricated service fees. BMH paid Diggs and King an amount totaling nearly $1 million, all of which was billed to Medicare. Diggs and King were both convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, and numerous violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Each face 15 to 20 years in prison, once sentencing is decided. Major William Marlowe of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, in collaboration with other agencies, investigated the case and made the announcement. Trial Attorneys Monica Cooper and Brynn Schiess of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
