One 37-year-old Nigerian man wey dem dey call Henry Ezeonyido, don collect 27 months prison sentence for federal court for Boston, US, sake of say im arrange fraud wey chop over $1 million from health insurance companies through fake reimbursement claim for medical wahala wey dem say happen during travel.
Na the US Department of Justice announce this tori for press release on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
Ezeonyido, wey dey stay for Taunton, Boston, chop sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin – 27 months for prison plus three years supervised release afterwards.
Dem still order am make im pay back $655,313 as restitution and surrender $396,998 wey be money wey im gain from the fraud. For February 2025, Ezeonyido don plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy to do health care fraud and six charges of actual fraud.
Dem first arrest am for July 2024 together with im partners Brendon Ashe, Aqiyla Atherton, Darline Cobbler and Ariel Lambert. Then for September 2024, grand jury come indict am. The other four wey join am for the fraud don plead guilty and dem sentence dem to probation.
From around October 2019 reach February 2022, Ezeonyido begin submit fake health insurance claims – for himself and at least seven other people (including Ashe, Atherton, Cobbler, and Lambert) – give five different insurance companies say dem get medical treatment abroad and pay for am with their own money.
Many of the claims na say dem get serious injury like stab wound, gunshot, hit and run accident wey land dem for hospital outside US. But true true, dem dey US that time wey dem say the thing happen.
Some people wey Ezeonyido submit claim for sabi the koko, but others no even know say their health info dey used, or Ezeonyido just trick dem collect the info. After im don collect the insurance money, im go ask for share from the person.
Ezeonyido still carry fake papers give insurance companies – fake hospital record, fake bank statement say dem pay hospital for abroad, and fake police report wey describe the injury.
Most of the stories for the claims na the same style – same date, same country, same injury style – and all na lie.
Because of this scam, the insurance companies chop over $1 million for treatment wey no happen. But dem pay out about $655,313.
After dem collect the money, Ashe, Cobbler, Lambert and others begin send part of the money give Ezeonyido and Atherton wey help bring people inside the fraud. In total, Ezeonyido keep around $396,998 from the fraud.
Na U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, FBI Acting Special Agent Kimberly Milka, Postal Inspection Service Inspector Ketty Larco-Ward, and Insurance Fraud Bureau Director Anthony DiPaolo announce the tori. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie A. Wright from Health Care Fraud Unit handle the case.
