Muhammad Zafar, the owner of a Michigan home health care company, received a 40-month prison sentence for his involvement in a scheme that defrauded Medicare of nearly $7.9 million. According to the Department of Justice, the 53-year-old Wayne County resident controlled a corporation that conspired with three doctors and two other business owners to submit false claims for superfluous services that were never given.
On June 17, 2015, Zafar made his first court appearance, facing charges of conspiracy to conduct health care fraud and wire fraud. On the same day, Zafar became an international fugitive after breaking a court-issued bond and fled to Pakistan, where he lived for almost seven and a half years. Only lately did he decide to return to the United States to face his charges. He received a sentence of three years and five months in jail after pleading guilty to submitting approximately $393,500 in false claims from his employer to Medicare.
The HHS-OIG and the FBI Detroit Field Office investigated the matter. Nicole M. Argentieri, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, announced the sentencing with HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto and FBI Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson. Jeffrey A. Crapko, a trial attorney from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, prosecuted the case.
The Department of Justice praised the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which has prosecuted over 5,400 offenders since 2007, totaling more than $27 billion in billings to government health programs and private insurers. Nine Strike Force teams operating in 27 federal districts are handling this investigation. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in collaboration with the HHS-OIG, are working to hold providers accountable for their roles in fraudulent schemes.