$45M Medicare Scam Stretched From Houston To Nigeria-Houston Chronicle

  Godwin Nzeocha, a suspect in a Medicare scam, was arrested in Nigeria.

By Terri Langford 

       

When United Airlines Flight 143 hit Bush Intercontinental's tarmac at 5:18 a.m., the Lagos overnighter came with a long-sought passenger: a handcuffed Nigerian fugitive who absconded from Houston days after his boss and co-workers were indicted in a $45 million Medicare scam.

The extradition of Godwin Chiedo Nzeocha marked a beguiling chapter in the case of a bogus Houston physical therapy clinic called City Nursing Services and accusations of Medicare fraud, money laundering and luxury living with American tax dollars.

Indictments of multiple characters in the scheme include allegations of using proceeds from the fraud to ship money and vehicles - including 80 18-wheelers - from Houston to Nigeria and stashing cash in Nigerian bank accounts. More than $831,000 sits idle in a Bank of America account in the United States.