Scooter Store raided by Feds in Medicare fraud probe

Government representatives descended like a furious cloud of bees searching for justice onto the headquarters of the Scooter Store recently. The company, the one behind those commercials guaranteeing power scooters for all with compromised mobility, is being probed for possible Medicare fraud.

Scooter Store raided for alleged benefits scam

There is a ton of fraud out there because people want a fast payday without doing any work. The most common form of scam is Medicare and Medicaid scam where medical centers and hospitals overbill the government to get some extra cash.

The latter form has been alleged to be standard operating procedure for a company called the Scooter Store, according to CBS, a company that many people have most likely seen advertisements for on television. The outfit specializes in power scooters for people with limited mobility.

The machines are type of like an electric trike; they use rechargeable batteries, electric motors for drive, and have handlebars which steer and have throttle and brake controls all atop a flat platform for the user to sit comfortably. Apparently, too many people are getting them on the federal dime, resulting in a raid.

A huge investigation

The Houston Chronicle explained that Scooter Store headquarters had to deal with a FBI raiding Texas. The Office of the Texas Lawyer General, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Medicare Fraud Control Unit, the FBI and the Department of Justice were all involved in the raid.

The store is expected to have been engaged in overbilling for Medicare and for harassing doctors to give them to patients who did not need them, according to CBS. One former employee Brian Setzer said he was certainly told to pressure doctors. Nobody has been charged yet though.

Many physicians likewise might complain that patients see pharmaceutical advertising and ask for brand-name medications they don't need. The United States is one of the few nations that allow it.

Courts to decide if illegal

The court will clearly have to decide whether or not the Scooter Store did anything unlawful. About 80 percent of mobility goods are given to patients to who do not need them or in error in another way, according to the DHHS.

The Houston Chronicle revealed that the Scooter Store was overpaid by $46.8 million to $108 million in Medicare last year and only repaid $20 million of it. This was shown in a government audit.

The federal government does not want to cover power mobility goods, which means the Scooter Store is losing business. In fact, it had to fire 270 employees in two rounds of layoffs recently, according to ABC.


Sources
CBS
Houston Chronicle
ABC

Nexus inks lease for former Scooter Store HQ in New Braunfels

With one transaction, the city of New Braunfels has gained a new employer and a new user for a one-time headquarters complex.

Nexus Medical Consulting has signed a long-term lease to occupy 35,000 square feet of space at the Heritage Business Center at 1650 Independence Drive.

The space will serve as the new headquarters for Nexus, which had been headquartered up the road, in the city of San Marcos, since its founding in 2009. Nexus specializes in providing medical reviews to a variety of health companies and law firms.

One of several developments by R.L. Worth & Associates, the Heritage Business Center was previously the headquarters for The Scooter Store— a provider of power chairs and mobility scooters that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last April. The company has since liquidated its assets and shut down its operations.

Scott McGill, vice president of business development for Nexus, represented his firm in the lease. R.L. Worth was represented by Shawn Gulley, a vice president of leasing for the locally based firm.

A total of 120 employees will be making the move from San Marcos to New Braunfels. Ed Bolton, president of Nexus, says that the new space in New Braunfels can accommodate the addition of about 100 more employees — a threshold he expects the firm will meet within 18 months.

“After that, we’ll need more space,” Bolton adds.

Finding more space is not likely to be a problem.

All told, Heritage Oaks spans 192,000 square feet — space that is spread out over a three-story building of 105,000 square feet and a two-story building measuring 80,000 square feet.

All of that space — sans the 35,000 square feet Nexus now occupies — is up for grabs. Plus, the firm has the right of first refusal for any of that space.

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