Two Baton Rouge, La., residents have pleaded guilty for their role in a Medicare fraud scheme, which allegedly involved more than $21 million.

Sandra Jimenez, 38, admitted to participating in a fraud scheme that was orchestrated by the owners and operators of American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC); its management company, Medlink Professional Management Group Inc.; and the American Sleep Institute (ASI).

The United States has sued Larry Carnell Dixon Sr., seeking to bar him and his business, Dixon’s Tax Service, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Karen Rayburn, 47, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Four individuals pleaded guilty today in Detroit for their roles in a $14 million Medicare fraud scheme. In a separate case, the owner of a Detroit psychotherapy clinic also pleaded guilty today for his role in a $3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Jorge Pineiro, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Yumeitrius Manuel and Margaret Kirksey, both of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Two corporations pleaded guilty today in separate hearings in Baltimore for their role in managing and owning a ship engaged in deliberate discharges of waste oil and plastic garbage.

The owner and an employee of a Miami health care agency pleaded guilty for their participation in a $22 million home health Medicare fraud scheme.

Santiago Villa-Restrepo, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow of the Eastern District of Michigan.

A federal court has permanently barred Lakeisha Pearson from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Natalie Evans, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in the Southern District of Florida.

Fred D. Belcher, 61, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Rodney D. Taylor, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive health care kickbacks.

Eduard Aslanyan, 38, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall in the Central District of California.

An eight-member jury has unanimously found that a former Jackson Hewitt tax preparer, Frances Carlson of Bradenton, Fla., prepared 27 federal tax returns that she knew would understate her customers’ tax liabilities, the Justice Department announced today.

An indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas and unsealed today charges Mohammed Khan, 62, of Houston, with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks and five counts of paying or offering to pay health care kickbacks.

The co-owner of two Los Angeles-area health care companies was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for his conviction stemming from a nine-year scheme to defraud Medicare.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new report showing that the government’s health care fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered nearly $4.1 billion in taxpayer dollars in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011.

Two Houston-area nurses and two of their co-conspirators have been sentenced in Houston for their participation in a $5.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

"In the fight against health-care fraud, our Departments have a long history of working collaboratively – and effectively. The “Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Annual Report” that we are submitting to Congress today underscores this fact," said Attorney General Holder.

Butler Moultrie, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks in the Southern District of Florida.

Mohammad Khan, 62, of Houston, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, and five counts of paying or offering to pay health care kickbacks.

Michelle Turner, 44, of Spring, Texas, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiring to receive illegal kickbacks for referring Medicare beneficiaries and two counts of receiving illegal kickbacks for referring Medicare beneficiaries.

Connie Ikpoh, 49, also was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter for the Central District of California to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $6.7 million in restitution jointly and severally with her co-conspirators.

A physician and the office manager of his medical practice, along with five owners of home health agencies, were arrested today on charges related to their alleged participation in a nearly $375 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services.

"This announcement underscores the bold, innovative and coordinated ways in which we are working alongside authorities at every level to prevent, identify and prosecute health care fraud throughout the country," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

"In Dallas, and the eight other Strike Force cities, the Criminal Division and our partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will continue to crack down on Medicare fraud and hold accountable those stealing from the public fisc," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

Odyssey HealthCare, a subsidiary of Gentiva, has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve civil liability under the federal False Claims Act arising from its billing of claims for certain hospice services, the Justice Department announced today. Odyssey Healthcare currently provides hospice services in approximately 27 states, including Wisconsin. Odyssey was purchased by Gentiva Healthcare in 2010.

Suspected fraudulent activity pertaining to relief efforts associated with the recent series of tornadoes in the Midwest and South should be reported to the NCDF hotline at 866-720-5721.

Akinsunbo Akinbile, 44, of Richmond, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in Houston.

Barry Nash, 69, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King in Miami to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Mathis Moore, 56, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks.

Karina Hernandez, 28, Marieva Briceno, 46, and Henry Briceno, 58, all of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

A Miami-area resident pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a fraud scheme that resulted in the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

The United States has asked a federal court to bar Cynthia H. Carter from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Two patient recruiters for several Louisiana durable medical equipment (DME) companies were sentenced today for their roles in Medicare fraud schemes involving fraudulent claims and illegal kickback payments for unnecessary DME, announced the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the FBI and the Louisiana State Attorney General’s Office.

EUSA Pharma (USA) Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $180,000 to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act by allegedly encouraging doctors to submit inflated claims to Medicare for imaging scans.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez today signed a letter of intent for the United States to share approximately $6 million in forfeited funds with the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic of Mexico to support Mexican efforts to combat the financial infrastructure of organized criminal groups and to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in forfeiture matters.

Dr. Errol Sherman was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen in Detroit.

The United States has sued tax preparer Joseph Rivas, seeking to bar him from preparing any federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement today with Onward Healthcare, a healthcare staffing company based in Wilton, Conn., resolving allegations that the company posted discriminatory job advertisements on its home page and third party websites that limited its jobs to U.S. citizens.

Willie C. Grant, a Bibb County, Ga., tax return preparer who owned and operated “Grant Income Tax Bookkeeping and Check Cash,” was indicted on March 15, 2012, by a federal grand jury with 23 counts of making false claims for tax refunds, four counts of theft of government money and four counts of aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

Juan Villa, 29, of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Lazaro Acosta, 41, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz in Miami to one count of currency structuring to avoid reporting requirements.

Ariel Rodriguez, 41, Reynaldo Navarro, 37, and Ysel Salado, 26, each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and Melissa Rodriguez, 24, pleaded guilty on March 28, 2012, before Judge Cooke to the same charge.

Billy Denica, 50, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

WellCare Health Plans Inc. will pay $137.5 million to the federal government and nine states to resolve four lawsuits alleging violations of the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today.

At a Chicago summit highlighting a new high-tech war against health care fraud, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder today discussed how the Affordable Care Act and the Obama Administration’s Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) are helping fight Medicare fraud.

"How did we get here? In large part, because – nearly three years ago – the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services came together in a new way, and made a collective commitment to meeting our shared goals and responsibilities. This commitment inspired Secretary Sebelius and I to launch a landmark joint initiative – the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, known as 'HEAT,'" said Attorney General Holder.