HOUSTON (August 6, 2012)--A federal judge accepted a guilty plea Monday in Houston from Tony Nnonso Obi, 56, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Nigeria who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and to money laundering, prosecutors said.

He’s the seventh person to plead guilty in what prosecutors say was a $45 million health care fraud scheme.

Prosecutors say Obi was affiliated with an assisted living facility and sent some residents to City Nursing Service of Texas Inc.

Investigators say City Nursing owner Umawa Imo paid Obi more than $1 million as part of the Medicare and Medicaid scam.

Imo was sentenced last year to more than 27 years in federal prison.

Obi faces as much as 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Nov. 5.