Follow Us on Google
Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a couple for allegedly defrauding the Federal Government of N60 million through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
After the fraudulent act, the couple, Tunde and Fumilayo, ran to Ghana to avoid being arrested by the police.
Fumilayo, who works with Clearline International Limited, a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) based in Lagos, had allegedly diverted the funds meant for health insurance to her personal account.
It was gathered that Fumilayo, who has been working with the company since 2014, also indicted the HMO in the said fraud. She revealed that the HMO allegedly trained worker to cheat the system.
Fumilayo, after diverting the said amount, took her annual leave early this year and absconded with her lover and accomplice, Tunde, to Ghana.
The company, however, uncovered the fraud after Fumilayo had left for her annual vacation. The company launched an investigation into the fraud as attempts to reach Fumilayo proved abortive.
The suspects were arrested and paraded by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Zubairu Muazu, yesterday.
Funmilayo, a mother of two said: “I have been working with Clearline International Limited since 2014 to early 2019. What we do there is that we act as the middlemen between NHIS and the hospitals. Our company cheats the system as we falsify records. When NHIS gives us money to pay hospitals, we do not spend all that was given to us and we do not refund the excess to NHIS purse; the company pockets the money.
“The money that I diverted on behalf of the company was N60 million but I took N38 million to my personal account. My bosses, Kolawole and Patricia, were all involved in the fraud. It was an insider in my office that called my husband and advised that we should run away. So, we ran to Ghana. It was after they arrested my husband that I had to come out to tell the police the truth. The truth is that our company cheats. We were trained how to steal. I am warning people who do business with HMO to be wary. HMO is fraud.”
Tunde said: “Fumilayo is my lover; she told me that she wanted to travel out because she had defrauded her company and needed to run far. We left for Ghana early this year, but I had to return two weeks ago when the news reached me that my mother is dead.”
It was at her burial in Ogba area of Lagos that I was arrested.”
The secretary to Clearline International Limited, Ijeoma Anyiam, said: “It was the day Funmilayo commenced her annual vacation that a hospital called to report that she did not pay them for some months. They reported further that anytime they called, she would tell them that the mater would be resolved and since that was her portfolio, she would take money meant for another hospital and pay them. So when they now complained and she was on vacation, someone else had to look into the matter and found out that we have paid on a particular date. We got their account number, investigated and that was how we found out the fraud.”
Anyiam, who is also the General Manager of the HMO, said the company would cooperate with the police in their investigation and would ensure that those indicted in the company would be brought to book.
