FBI raids The Scooter Store headquarters and question executives as company is being probed for $100M Medicare fraud



More than 150 FBI agents and local cops have raided the Texas headquarters of The Scooter Store, the nation's largest supplier of mobility vehicles, after the company allegedly defrauded Medicare by $100 million.

The company is accused of harassing doctors with constant phone calls and surgery visits in order to wear them down to prescribe their vehicles to patients who do not need them.



Most of the 1,200 workers at the headquarters were told the leave the building Wednesday after the FBI arrived and began scouring for billing documents as part of their investigation that could lead to criminal charges.

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The Scooter Store is accused of defrauding Medicare by more than $100 million by having doctors prescribe vehicles to patients who did not really need them

More than 150 FBI agents and state police have raided the Texas headquarters a power wheelchair and scooter company as part of an investigation into alleged fraud

The raid follows allegations that the company over-billed Medicare by $108 million between 2009-2012

The employees, who were told not take or move anything before leaving, were not allowed back on Thursday and it was not immediately clear if they'd be able to enter today.



The company's executives were told to stay and were questioned, My San Antonio reported.

'FRAUD ' BY THE NUMBERS

The feds spent $723 million for the scooters in Medicare reimbursements for 2009 alone

About 80 per cent of all claims for scooters were found to be medically unnecessary

61 per cent of claims that were approved should not have been, totaling $95 million



Medicare paid FOUR TIMES the average amount spent by suppliers for standard power wheelchairs

The raid follows a damning exposé by CBS This Morning in January which alleged that the company over-billed Medicare by $108 million between 2009-2012.

Former employee Brian Setzer told CBS that company's main goal was to use pressure to get doctors to prescribe their vehicles.

'Bulldoze and get them to get the paperwork done,' he said.

'I'd get a call, 'Well, can you go in to get him to do this? Could you get him to do this.' I couldn't feel right in my heart to do that,' Setzer said of the orders from his bosses to annoy doctors into prescribing the vehicles.

The firm has a specialized department which devotes its energies to getting the vehicles for patients who had already been ruled ineligible by Medicare.

Timothy Menke, from the Office of the Inspector General, said the investigation involves his agency, plus the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Texas attorney general’s Medicaid fraud unit. An FBI spokesman declined comment.

In an email to employees sent Thursday morning, CEO Martin Marty Landon, who took over in July 2012, called the raid a 'confusing and troubling day for many of us.'



'I know this is a difficult time but our best remedy, I believe, is to continue to cooperate fully in this investigation and to serve our customers with a high level of quality, integrity and service,' Landon wrote to employees.

Employees were instructed to tell customers that the company is in full compliance with all federal rules and regulations.

Many fear the investigation will cause them to lose their job, especially since the company has undergone two rounds of significant layoffs in recent months.



Scooter Store Founder Doug Harrison hawks for the vehicle in this 2011 commercial that told seniors they could get a scooter with the government paying for it

'I pray to God that everyone's OK, and that they find employment if this place shuts down,' employee Ed Silvestry told CBS . The company earlier this month cut 150 jobs and blamed pending government changes in claims processing and reimbursement.

That came after the company in September laid off about 220 workers, citing a drop in Medicare reimbursements.

The 1,200 employees were told not to remove anything from their desks after FBI agents arrived

The Scooter Store earlier this month cut 150 jobs and blamed pending government changes in claims processing and reimbursement. The company in September laid off about 220 workers, citing a drop in Medicare reimbursements.

Last year, it was discovered that The Scooter Store received anywhere from $46.8 million to $87.7 million in Medicare over-payments from 2009 to 2011.

The company determined the over-payments were only $19.5 million.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) agreed to accept that amount in repayment. The Scooter Store was given five years to pay it back.