Owner of Medical Equipment Company Sentenced to 130 Months in Prison for Health ...(sof the fraud and transfer the cash to S...),Health

In addition to the Medstar and Orthotics Fitters fraud, witnesses also testified about several other forms of health care fraud in which Smith engaged, including: brokering the purchase and sale of DME companies for the purpose of "burning Medicare," or submitting more than a million dollars in fraudulent claims within a window of two to three weeks; accepting payments from approximately 180 DME companies in return for agreeing to be listed in official Medicare records as the DME companies' orthotics fitter, when in reality Smith performed no services for those companies; and owning an interest in two additional medical equipment companies that were committing Medicare fraud.

Following a six-day trial, Smith was convicted on April 23, 2008, of all counts contained in a seventeen count indictment, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit health care fraud, and to cause the submission of false claims; seven counts of health care fraud; seven counts of false claims; one count of conspiracy to launder the proceeds of his crimes; and money laundering. Smith was allowed by the court to remain free on bond after his conviction, with the requirement that he be placed on home confinement with electronic monitoring. On June 14, 2008, Smith violated the terms of his release and fled the country. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Hank Bond Walther and John K. Neal of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section in Washington, D.C., with the investigative assistance of the FBI and HHS, Office of Inspector General. The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Acosta of the Southern District of Flori
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