Date: 11-13-2024

Case Style:

United States of America v. Ifeanyi Ozoh

Case Number:

Judge: Randy Crane

Court: The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Harris County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: The States United Attorney’s Office in Houston

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Houston, Texas criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with $6M bribery scheme
Houston dental clinic employee imprisoned for role in $6M bribery scheme

A federal jury deliberated for an hour following a three-day trial before finding Ifeanyi Ozoh, age 54, guilty on all counts Feb. 14.

Ozoh worked at a local dental clinic known as Floss Family Dentalcare Center from January 2020 to February 2021.

At the time of trial, the jury heard how Ozoh paid marketers $20 to $100 for each Medicaid-insured child referred to Floss. The marketers testified that Ozoh secretly paid them in cash and out of sight of other witnesses, sometimes putting their illegal kickback payments on top of a vending machine down the hall from the clinic.

One clinic manager testified that she repeatedly warned Ozoh that paying marketers was illegal.

The jury also heard that Ozoh paid out over $163,000 in bribes to marketers and received bonuses for reaching a quota of patients.

From 2020 to 2021, Floss billed Medicaid over $6 million. Floss received over $4 million on those claims, most of which were predicated on a kickback paid to marketers and for dental services that were not provided.

During the trial, a representative testified that Medicaid prohibits the payment of kickbacks for referrals of medical services.

Ozoh was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

FBI, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Olson and Lauren Valenti prosecuted the case.

Outcome:

Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 72 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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