Houston home health care business owner sent to prison for $10M Medicare fraud

HOUSTON, TX -- A 59-year-old Houston woman has been sent to federal prison following her conviction of committing and conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Naomi Moore pleaded guilty April 7.

Today, U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge imposed the statutory maximum of 60 months to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the prison terms, Judge Eskridge noted a variance would not appropriate given the amount of money involved in the scheme.

Moore was the owner of Friend’s Place and Metro Health Services, both home health care service businesses located in Houston.

From May 2006 to June 2019, Moore billed Medicare by fraudulently using names of beneficiaries that were not patients of Metro or Friend’s Place. They did not need home health services, were not treated by a physician and had never been patients.

Moore created false documents and billed Medicare for approximately $10.7 million in purported home health services. The federal health insurance paid nearly $6.8 million on those claims.

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

The Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicare Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari prosecuted the case.