Man charged in $97M brace scheme
By HME News Staff
Updated 8:23 AM CST, Tue February 27, 2024
NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida man has been charged with an indictment unsealed on Feb. 21 for this role in a DME kickback scheme that caused $97 million in losses to Medicare, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey. Raheel Naviwala, 35, of Coral Springs, Fla., is charged in a 10-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, three counts of health care fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and three counts of illegal kickbacks. According to the indictment, Naviwala and his conspirators owned and operated multiple call centers through which they obtained doctors’ orders for orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to medical necessity. He and his conspirators obtained the DME orders through the use of marketing call centers and telemedicine companies and provided these DME orders in exchange for bribes from certain companies of $125 to $450 per brace. Naviwala and his conspirators caused losses to Medicare in excess of $97 million and received kickbacks in excess of $46 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that the charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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