Essex County Pediatrician Gets 3 Years In Prison: Prosecutor

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Attorney General Christopher Porrino and the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced Monday that an Essex County pediatrician has been sentenced to three years in state prison for submitting fraudulent claims to the Medicaid program through which she falsely billed for working 24 hours or more a day.

According to prosecutors, Ibilola Ighama-Amegor, 55, whose Quality Pediatrix practice is located in Newark, must also pay $216,000 in restitution under a sentence issued by Superior Court Judge Michael Petrolle in Newark on Friday.

Following a five-week jury trial in June, a jury found Amegor guilty of 48 counts of health care claims fraud and one count of Medicaid fraud, all in the third degree. Amegor was acquitted of second-degree theft by deception, prosecutors said.

At trial, the state presented testimony that Amegor submitted bills for 24 hours or more of work on 48 dates of service between April 30, 2008 and May 16, 2011. An investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that Amegor’s practice was only open for approximately eight hours per day, three days a week.

“Dr. Amegor used her medical degree as a license to steal from a program that pays for medical care for the elderly and those who can’t afford health insurance,” Porrino stated.

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