VALLEY MAN CHARGED IN MEDICARE FRAUD.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

A Van Nuys man was charged Monday with defrauding the federal Medicare program by submitting claims for unneeded wheelchairs and medical equipment and for paying kickbacks to physicians who signed off on bogus bills, prosecutors said.

Vasu Deo, 43, was named in a criminal complaint filed Monday, U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said.

``We will not let individuals such as Vasu Deo steal from Medicare and other government health care programs to enrich themselves,'' said acting Principal Deputy Inspector General Dara Corrigan of the Department of Health and Human Services' Inspector General's Office.

Deo, who is the owner of Vasu Wheelchair Repair in Santa Monica, has agreed to plead guilty to three counts of health care fraud and one count of paying kickbacks to a physician.

Deo defrauded Medicare by billing for medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, that was never received by the Medicare beneficiary or was not medically necessary, Mrozek said.

Deo paid others to obtain Medicare beneficiary information that was later used to submit claims to Medicare for the equipment. Deo paid kickbacks to various physicians for signing documents that are needed to bill Medicare for the equipment, Mrozek said. In some cases, doctors were paid $500 for signing the documents.

Deo billed Medicare primarily for motorized wheelchairs, wheelchair accessories and hospital beds. Medicare reimburses the equipment companies approximately $4,000 to $8,000 for motorized wheelchairs, the accessories and hospital beds.

From January 1998 through October 2001, Deo's company billed Medicare approximately $2.7 million and was paid approximately $1.15 million in reimbursement for fraudulent claims.

Deo is expected to make his first court appearance Nov. 24 and authorities expect him to plead guilty in this case. Deo then would face a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com