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It was a durable medical equipment (DME) scam with a slight twist in the recipe. Two of the main ingredients were a pinch of motor vehicle record compilation and a dash of creative telemarketing.
The Federal Trade Commission has made charges against an Ohio company, Motion Medical, Inc., of Blacklick, accusing the company of billing insurance companies for unordered, unneeded or unwanted supplies. The company has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle the charges but does not admit to or acknowledge any wrongdoing. Company president, Anton Albert Wood, will pay $46,700 in the case.
The recipe went like this:
State license plate records were checked and lists were compiled of people with handicapped license plates. Those drivers were contacted by telemarketers for the DME company and the handicapped individuals were told that they were eligible to receive certain medical equipment (ie. wheelchairs) at no cost.
Free equipment? Well, free to the consumer – but not to the insurance companies that received the billings for the expensive paraphernalia. In some cases the bills were for more expensive equipment than that which was ordered – and in other cases, bills were received by insurance companies when no equipment had been ordered or delivered.
Two other companies are under investigation and have been cited for the same scheme. Those cases remain pending.
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