United States v. Rufai, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 20800

Rufai and Adegboye formed First Century Medical Supply as the legal front; Ohaka actively perpetrated Medicare fraud through First Century.
Ohaka filed fraudulent Medicare claims via multiple DME companies, with First Century billed in the five beneficiary cases at issue.
A joint trial acquitted Rufai and Adegboye of conspiracy but convicted them on five counts of aiding and abetting health care fraud; Ohaka’s role was unindicted but acknowledged as the offender.
Medicare Part B and the CR modifier context explained; First Century sought Medicare reimbursement and deposited funds into newly opened First Century accounts.
Rufai and Adegboye provided the legal and financial front (incorporation, bank accounts, director/officer roles) while Ohaka controlled the fraudulent submissions.
The district court sentenced Rufai and Adegboye to 12 months and 1 day on Counts II–VI; on appeal, Rufai challenges the sufficiency of evidence for aiding and abetting.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did the evidence prove Rufai aided and abetted the fraud beyond a reasonable doubt?	No direct evidence; association with Ohaka insufficient to prove knowledge or intent.	Circumstantial evidence from totality shows awareness and intent to participate.	Yes; the conviction is reversed for insufficient evidence.

United States v. Jackson, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence (Jackson v. Virginia).)
United States v. Summers, 414 F.3d 1287 (10th Cir. 2005) (need for intent to be proven to support aiding and abetting.)
United States v. Rahseparian, 231 F.3d 1257 (10th Cir. 2000) (guilt by association must be guarded against; inference must be supported.)
United States v. Goode, 483 F.3d 676 (10th Cir. 2007) (plain error review in sufficiency cases; rare cases where failure to prove element matters.)
United States v. Smith, not applicable (not applicable) (placeholder to maintain formatting if needed)