2 indicted in fraud case
Two San Bernardino County medical company executives have been indicted on charges of defrauding Medicare out of more than $2.5 million as part of a larger scheme that led to the arrests of 18 others three months ago, authorities said Tuesday.
Kim Jeanette Shittu, 45, and Adekunle Rafiu Shittu, 54, are accused of participating in a fraud ring in which patient recruiters brought people to one of several clinics where they were sold prescriptions for wheelchairs they did not need or even receive, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The Shittus operated two of the medical supply companies that billed Medicare for the wheelchairs, authorities said.
“We’re unaware of any legitimate business that came through these two companies,” said Kirk Ogrosky, a Department of Justice prosecutor who heads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.
The pair also billed Medicare for wheelchair accessories and hospital beds, he said. Some patients allegedly received the medical equipment and others were given money for participating in the fraud, he said.
Kim Shittu was arrested Tuesday morning, and Adekunle Shittu is expected to be arrested later this week, Ogrosky said.
Others involved in the alleged scheme were arrested in September. The ring allegedly bilked Medicare out of at least $33 million, authorities said.
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