Tinley Park doctor found guilty of Medicare fraud

A Tinley Park doctor was convicted Monday of defrauding Medicare by falsely claiming patients who were not homebound needed home visits for medical care.

A federal jury found 66-year-old Dr. Banio Koroma guilty of two counts of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements related to health care matters, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Koroma worked for Mobile Doctors, which contracted with physicians to arrange in-home visits for patients in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and other states, prosecutors said. Mobile Doctors was located at 3319 N. Elston until it closed in 2013.

Prosecutors said Koroma certified patients as confined to their homes when they weren’t actually homebound and didn’t need the services he had ordered. The certification for one of those patients, who was able to leave her home and visit her primary-care physician’s office, cost Medicare more than $45,000.

The health care fraud counts each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, while the false statement charges carry a maximum sentence of five years each, prosecutors said. Koroma is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. for a sentencing hearing June 2.

The investigation into Mobile Doctors previously resulted in a conviction against the company’s CEO, Dike Ajiri, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. He pleaded guilty in October to fraudulently increasing bills and defrauding Medicare and the Railroad Retirement Board of $1,854,000.

Ajiri faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced April 19, prosecutors said.