Twelve defendants were arrested last week on various charges, outlined in five indictments, regarding their roles in several unrelated conspiracies involving more than $100 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldaa of the Northern District of Texas.

Two additional defendants that are named in the indictments are already in federal custody. Defendants began making their initial court appearances last week.

With the indictments unsealed today, over the last 18 months the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Northern District of Texas has charged defendants with close to one half billion dollars of fraud and have sent a clear message that we will protect taxpayers dollars and the Medicare program, said Saldaa.

Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the Dallas Regional Office Office of the Inspector General said, In one of the cases charged today, the defendants submitted claims for services to Medicare patients whose only connection to the defendants were that their names happened to be on a list of stolen Medicare ID numbers the defendants had obtained. The patients never visited the defendants business and never received any of the diagnostic tests and office visits for which their Medicare benefits were charged.

Lawrence Dale St. John, his son Jeffrey Dale St. John and Dr. Nicolas Alfonso Padron are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 13 substantive counts of health care fraud. The indictment alleges that from May 2010 through January 5, 2012, the defendants conspired together to bill Medicare for care plan oversight, by Dr. Padron, for numerous beneficiaries when Dr. Padron was out of town, including dates when he was out of the country and on a cruise.

Dr. Padron has been in federal custody since his arrest in June 2012 on charges related to his role in a conspiracy to illegally distribute and dispense hydrocodone.

Pamela Adenuga, 38, and her husband, Kahinde Adenuga, 45, both of Arlington are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and seven substantive counts of health care fraud. The indictment alleges that since November 2007, Pamela and Kahinde Adenuga conspired together to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by submitting claims for DME that was either not provided or not prescribed.

Olalekan Sorunke, 40, of Rowlett is charged with four counts of health care fraud stemming from his operation of Lincoln Medical Supply, Inc., a DME business he owned and operated in Dallas.

According to the indictment, Sorunke billed Medicare for power wheelchairs, hospital beds for home use and related accessories and other DME that was not medically necessary, and in some cases, was never provided to the Medicare beneficiaries. The indictment alleges that he engaged in up-coding wheelchairs, billing for but failing to provide wheelchairs, and forging doctors signatures on required documentation for the wheelchairs.

A physician, Joseph Megwa, 58, of Arlington, and two registered nurses Ferguson Ikhile and Ebolose Eghobor, who were associated with PTM Healthcare Services, Inc., a home healthcare agency, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three substantive counts of health care fraud arising from their association with a home health agency. In addition, Dr. Megwa is charged with four counts of making false statements relating to healthcare matters.

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Health care fraud indictments returned against 14