Essential Home Medical Equipment, listed as owned and operated by a Monica Vanessa Adams, is a company that has received an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB has received a number of complaints alleging Medicare fraud dating back to 2018, prompted by people who received unexplained packages in the mail containing orthopedic braces that were billed to their Medicare account.

In one such complaint an aggrieved consumer stated:

“Received a back brace from Essential Medical Supplies — I DID NOT REQUEST THIS and I DO NOT have any back issues. This is a FRAUD as they billed Medicare $1017 ... I called the company and was informed Dr. Ravi Murali (who is in Wisconsin and I am in Maryland) prescribed the brace. I have never seen this person in my life. The company billed my Medicare and now I have to fill out a form and return to the company to receive a credit to my Medicare account. This is BLATANT FRAUD!”

The nature and extent of this scheme, including what parties are involved, are still unclear, but investigators hope to learn more with Dr. Murali’s cooperation.

In 2015, Dr. Murali was reprimanded by the Wisconsin State Medical Board for including a forged diploma in his medical license application, in false recognition of graduating from a residency program that he had in fact dropped out of and not completed. As a consequence, he was ordered to take 18 hours of courses on medical ethics.

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