A Houston doctor was indicted on Monday in a Medicare and Medicaid billing scheme case worth more than $850,000 and involving patients who were tested for inner ear disorders.
The federal indictment charges Dr. Emmanuel Nwora with 12 counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The 48-year-old is accused of filing testing claims to Medicare and Medicaid without seeing the patients or ordering follow-up care for them between 2006 and 2010.
In the case of one patient, Nwora allegedly submitted to Medicare 171 claims worth $121,836 over a one-year period.
Of the $852,502.91 submitted to the two insurance programs, $363,742.99 was paid to Nwora.
Prosecutors say the scheme began in 2006 and involved an arrangement in which Nwora signed off on "vestibular" testing for the inner ear disorders performed by Cevine Health Care and Rehabilitation, which has locations on Harwin Drive and Bissonnet, business records show.
Cevine's owner Charles Harris, who also goes by two other names -- Celestine Nwajfor and Okechi Nwajiofor -- also was charged in the case and remains at large.
Cevine Health Care and Rehabilitation, which is not an authorized Medicare and Medicaid provider, would have their tests signed off by Nwora, who would file the claims. Once the claims were paid by Medicare and Medicaid, Nwora would write a check to Harris, the indictment states.
