Hundreds of North Texas Nigerian-Americans are caught up in the biggest home health care frauds ever uncovered, reports the Dallas Morning News. Federal indictments were issued in 2012 against those who allegedly profited the most from half a billion dollars in fraudulent local Medicare billings. Many other Nigerian-Americans living in the area and operating small health care businesses were also involved. Law enforcement officials and leaders in the Nigerian-American community describe Dallas home health care fraud as rampant and say one-third of all cases under investigation — involve Nigerian-Americans.
Education consultant Remigus Ihekwaba said he and his wife looked at opening a home health care agency but changed their minds after sensing there was too much corruption. “It is embarrassing to the Nigerian community that this type of thing is going on,” said Ihekwaba, who is also president of the West Africa America Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Dallas. “It's greed. Greed and trying to see the easy way out,” he said. “People took advantage of lax enforcement by the federal government on this issue.”