Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A Raleigh woman will serve 80 months in prison for healthcare fraud, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of North Carolina.

Tanya Grant, 51, was sentenced December 8, 2022 for a health care fraud scheme carried out between 2017 and 2021 through two companies she controlled: Carolina Rehab Products Inc. (CRP), also known as Atlantic Brace, in Raleigh; and Blue File DME, LLC (Blue File), in Dunn. These companies were licensed to supply durable medical equipment, such as neck and back braces, to Medicare beneficiaries.

Grant pleaded guilty to the charge on July 6, 2022.

“This defendant was motivated by greed, scheming to steal millions in taxpayer dollars meant for senior citizens and the needy,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Michael Easley. “She used her fraud to fuel her lavish lifestyle, including a vacation home, luxury cars, jewelry, and a boat. Health care fraud like this costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year. We will use every avenue to root it out and bring offenders to justice.”

To carry out the scheme and enrich herself, the investigation showed that Grant purchased lists of Medicare patient names from companies overseas, then billed Medicare for purportedly supplying these patients with durable medical equipment, according to the release.

“In many cases, Medicare was billed even though no equipment was shipped,” stated the release. “Medicare was also billed by Grant’s companies for supplying medical equipment to 422 deceased individuals. When audited by Medicare contractors, the evidence showed that Grant forged physician orders if no such order existed in her files to support her billings.”

According to the release, in total, Grant caused CRP and Blue File to bill Medicare for more than $50 million in durable medical equipment between 2014 and 2021, of which Medicare paid Grant more than $17 million. “Grant used these funds to purchase a home in Raleigh, a townhome in Florida, a Porsche, several Range Rovers, several Jeeps, boat, jewelry, art, and electronics, as well as amassing more than a million dollars in cash and investments,” the release continued. “These assets have been seized by the government to be used to recover the stolen funds.”

Easley made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Grant.  The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William M. Gilmore and Karen Haughton prosecuted.

READ ABOUT MORE NEWS HERE.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COASTLAND TIMES TODAY!