Detroit Home Health Owner Sentenced to 8 Years

A partial owner of a Detroit home health care company has been sentenced to eight years in prison for participating in a $33 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The sentencing of Badar Ahmadani, 49, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, follows his conviction in 2015 of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks. He has also been ordered to pay $38 million in restitution, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Evidence presented at trial shows Ahmadani took part in a scheme from 2006 to 2011 in which he and others attracted patients to their home health companies by paying kickbacks to recruiters. Those recruiters went on to pay cash to patients to tempt them to sign up for home health care at Access Care Home Inc., Patient Care Home Care Inc., Hands On Healing Home Care Inc. (which Ahmadani co-owned) and All State Home Care Inc.

Both Ahmadani and co-owner Zafar Mehmood also paid kickbacks to doctors to refer patients to the companies for home health care services, although there wasn’t any medical necessity nor were services actually provided, according to the evidence.

Mehmood was sentenced in October to serve 30 years in prison and to pay $40.5 million in restitution for convictions of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, one county of conspiracy to commit money laundering, two counts of money laundering and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Written by Kourtney Liepelt