Scooter Store raided
By HME News Staff
Updated Wed February 20, 2013
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - Federal and state agencies raided The Scooter Store Wednesday morning as part of an ongoing probe into possible Medicare fraud, local news sources reported.
Hundreds of employees at the New Braunfels, Texas headquarters complex were told to gather belongings and go home for the day, according to KENS5, a local TV news station.
FBI special agent spokesman Erik Vasys told local reporters he could not provide details regarding the raid, but he did confirm that the FBI and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) were on site, according to the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
As employees left, investigators handed out small white slips of paper with the phone number 1-800-CALL-FBI, according to KENS5.
This raid is the latest in a series of setbacks for The Scooter Store, beginning with the departure of founder Doug Harrison and much of the provider's upper management team early last year. CEO Marty Landon has been at the helm since July 2012.
Also, changes in Medicare policy and decreases in reimbursement have led The Scooter Store to lay off 220 workers in September and 150 employees earlier this month.
Additionally, The Scooter Store faced scrutiny from Congress recently. In a letter, Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., questioned The Scooter Store's agreement with CMS to return overpayments. The senators asked why The Scooter Store was returning $19.5 million, when auditors found overpayments ranging from about $32 million to $64 million.
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