Two Houston doctors — Charles Frank Skripka Jr., 65, and Jayshree Patel, 62, — were among four local men who were convicted by a jury this past Friday afternoon in federal court on charges related to accepting kickbacks in a scheme that allegedly defrauded Medicare of more than $21 million. The other two men convicted were James Ekiko, 43, the owner of a medical equipment supply company, and David Dennis Brown, 47, who recruited patients into the scam.The Justice Department’s press release on the convictions is here.
The jury convicted all four men of health fraud in connection with a scheme to prescribe motorized wheelchairs to people who didn’t need them. Skripka, Ekiko and Brown also were convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud Medicare, while Skripka and Ekiko were also convicted of money laundering. Prosecutors contended that recruiters such as Brown would pay prospective patients $50 each to see the doctors, who would then prescribe motorized wheelchairs. The medical supply company would bill Medicare $4,200 for the wheelchairs that cost $1,600, pay the doctors $200 per prescription, and then pocket the balance as profit. At the height of the scam, the doctors were writing as many as 80 prescriptions a day!