Crime can be a family affair

Sometimes crime can be a family affair — as in the recent local bust of a clan deep in the dangerous waters of Medicare fraud.

No less than three members of a local family face a combined 24 felony charges, including racketeering and criminal conspiracies to commit Medicaid fraud, arising from more than $400,000 in Medicaid-funded care paid on behalf of a disabled relative. That’s big money. The family members are a 48-year old woman, her husband, and her niece, 36.

Each is accused of presenting false claims for payment to the state’s Medicaid program for services that were not rendered. They are presently in the slammer.

The plain for the crime involved workers from the immediate clan, who were paid wages to care for a disabled relative 24 hours per day, seven days a week all allegedly billed to a Medicaid provider, My Purpose Community Service, Inc. of Slidell.

Instead of performing vital care to the victim — a completely bed-ridden, adult paraplegic suffering from cerebral palsy — they left her alone in the evening hours open to attacks by two Capuchin monkeys.

The woman and her husband are also accused of using the disabled relative’s Social Security disability benefits and wages.

State wildlife and fisheries agents helped remove the two moneys from the family’s property.

The attorney general had this to say: “We seek to protect our most vulnerable citizens-the elderly and disabled-and vigorously prosecute criminals who prey on them. We will also continue to aggressively investigate Medicaid fraud and abuse from every angle by working collectively with other state agencies to protect taxpayer dollars.”

Source: 
newsobserver.com, “Folsom family arrested for Medicaid fraud” No author given, Aug. 29, 2013