A United States District Court has sentenced a 37-year-old Nigerian national, Henry Ezeonyido, to 27 months’ imprisonment for his involvement in a $1 million health insurance fraud scheme.
According to a statement released on Thursday by the US Department of Justice, Ezeonyido carried out the fraudulent activities between October 2019 and February 2022.
During this period, he submitted false health insurance claims to five separate insurance providers, falsely asserting that he had suffered multiple accidents while travelling overseas. The statement further revealed that he filed similar fraudulent claims on behalf of at least seven other individuals.
In total, over $1 million was fraudulently claimed, with the insurers paying out approximately $655,313. Ezeonyido personally retained nearly $397,000 from the scheme.
The statement read: “Ezeonyido was arrested and charged in July 2024 alongside co-conspirators Brendon Ashe, Aqiyla Atherton, Darline Cobbler, and Ariel Lambert. A federal grand jury subsequently indicted him in September 2024. All four co-defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced to probation.”
Ezeonyido’s fraudulent claims described fabricated traumatic incidents—such as stabbings, gunshot wounds, and hit-and-run accidents—which supposedly occurred abroad. In truth, the claimants were in the United States at the time.
To support these false claims, Ezeonyido forged medical records, created fictitious bank statements purporting to show payment for international treatments, and fabricated police reports detailing the alleged incidents.
The statement added: “Upon receiving the insurance payouts, Ashe, Cobbler, Lambert, and others paid kickbacks to Ezeonyido and his co-conspirators. Atherton also received a share for acting as a middleman and recruiting others into the scheme.”
Ezeonyido pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and six counts of healthcare fraud. He was sentenced by US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
In addition, he has been ordered to pay restitution totalling $655,313 and to forfeit $396,998 in illicit proceeds.