Company owner charged with fraud
Bill claims $175,923 Medicare scheme
The U.S. Attorney’s Office accused Dorothy Cole, who did business as Rest Assure Home Medical Equipment, with executing a scheme that wrongfully defrauded Medicare of $175,923, according to the bill of information.
Cole is accused of routinely billing Medicare for providing K0829 and K0848 model power wheelchairs to Medicare beneficiaries, when she actually provided the beneficiaries with less expensive power wheelchairs and/or scooters, the bill of information says.
The scheme lasted from August 2007 to April 2009, according to the bill of information.
Cole is charged with five specific incidents that involved three wheelchairs priced at $2,470 and two wheelchairs priced at $5,075.
The wheelchairs are known as power wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs or power-operated vehicles, or scooters. Medicare helps pay for the equipment when it is deemed medically necessary or is ordered by licensed doctors or other qualified health care providers, the bill of information says.
In order to bill Medicare for such equipment, a supplier had to be an approved Medicare supplier, after which the supplier could submit claims for payment to Medicare for the cost of the equipment supplied to beneficiaries, the bill of information says.
The Louisiana Secretary of State lists the company as currently being inactive. The company’s business line is disconnected.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not return an email seeking comment about the status of the business Friday.