Physician sentenced for Medicare fraud

An Arlington, Texas physician was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to repay nearly $5.5 million for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare out of $100 million.

 

The sentence for Joseph Megwa, MD, follows his conviction last May on charges of fraud, conspiracy, and making false statements. According to authorities, from 2006 to 2012, Megwa approved false or unnecessary Medicare claims for thousands of patients from hundreds of home healthcare agencies in the Dallas area.

 

The owner of one of the home healthcare agencies involved in the case pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and will be sentenced next month.