HOUSTON – A 54-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in a medical kickback scheme, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced.

Ifeanyi Ozoh was found guilty on February 14 after a federal jury deliberated for an hour following a three-day trial. Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane ordered Ozoh to serve six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and pay $4.9 million in restitution to Medicaid.

Evidence presented in court showed that Ozoh, an employee at Floss Family Dentalcare Center, bribed marketers and parents to bring Medicaid-insured children to the clinic.

RELATED: Houston dental practice owner hired unlicensed dentists, filed fraudulent claims

Ozoh worked at the clinic between January 2020 and February 2021. The US Attorney’s Office alleges that during his time there, he paid marketers between $20 and $100 for each child they referred to Floss, often using secret methods to avoid being seen, including cash payments. the top of a vending machine near the clinic.

Testimony at trial showed Ozoh paid more than $163,000 and received bonuses for hitting a quota of patients. The court heard that Floss billed Medicaid more than $6 million during the scheme, with more than $4 million received for claims, many based on fraudulent referrals and services that were never provided.

A clinic manager testified that he repeatedly warned Ozoh about the illegality of marketing payers.

Get news, weather and more in the new FOX LOCAL app

Under Medicaid regulations, paying referral fees is illegal.

Ozoh remains on bail and will surrender to the Bureau of Prisons at a later date.

The FBI, the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant District Attorneys Kathryn Olson and Lauren Valenti prosecuted.