A New Jersey pediatrician is headed to prison for defrauding Medicaid.
Dr. Ibilola Ighama-Amegor will spend three years in prison and pay $216,000 in restitution for billing Medicaid for 24-hour work days when her office was only open for eight hours.
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Prosecutors said that Ighama-Amegor submitted bills for 24 hours of work or more on the same day nearly 50 times between April 30, 2008 and May 16, 2011, according to a report by NJ.com. However, an investigation into her office found that it was only open eight hours a day, three days a week.
In June, a jury convicted Ighama-Amegor on 48 counts of healthcare claims fraud and one count of Medicaid fraud, according to a report by NJ.com.
“Dr. Amegor used her medical degree as a license to steal from a program that pays for medical care for the elderly and those who can’t afford health insurance,” New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a statement. “She doesn’t belong in the medical profession; she belongs in prison, which is right where she’s going.”
Ighama-Amegor was taken into custody Friday, according to NJ.com. The state is also in the process of rescinding her medical license.
“Doctors who file false claims undermine the integrity of a system that depends on the trustworthiness of licensed professionals,” said acting insurance fraud prosecutor Christopher Iu. “Dr. Amegor’s sentence sends a powerful message that medical professionals who commit insurance fraud will be held accountable for their greed.”
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