Steven Osbey, a resident of Kernersville, North Carolina, has agreed to a consent judgment amounting to $4,711,159 in favor of the United States and the State of North Carolina. This agreement is part of a settlement regarding allegations that Reign & Inspirations, LLC (R&I), co-owned by Osbey and Aljihad Shabazz, billed Medicaid for non-existent physician home visits.
The governments alleged that Osbey and Shabazz orchestrated a healthcare fraud scheme by submitting claims to NC Medicaid for in-home physician visits that never took place. The fraudulent activity included billing for over 30,000 hours of these visits and sometimes claiming more than 100 in-home visits in a single day.
This investigation was conducted jointly by the civil and criminal divisions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Aljihad Shabazz pleaded guilty to charges related to healthcare fraud conspiracy and money laundering. He received a sentence of 52 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
The civil settlement was achieved through collaboration between the Department of Justice and FBI field offices in Charlotte, with support from the Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office and the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caroline McLean and Seth Johnson led the civil investigation.
This case highlights government efforts to combat healthcare fraud using tools like the False Claims Act. Reports on potential fraud can be directed to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).