Indictment: Kansas Home Health Worker's BillsClaimed She Was Working Up To 39 Hours A Day

TOPEKA, KAN. - A Kansas City, Kan., woman working as a personal care attendant was indicted Wednesday on a federal charge that Medicaid paid more than $587,000 based on fraudulent bills she submitted, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced. 

Doris Betts, 54, Kansas City, Kan., was charged with six counts of health care fraud. The indictment alleged the crimes occurred while Betts was claiming to provide personal services, residential support, day support, and sleep cycle support for seven different Medicaid consumers through four different billing agencies since January 2008. Personal services include bathing, house cleaning, meal preparation, toileting, transferring and prompting patients to take medication.

The indictment alleges an analysis of Betts’ documentation of services showed:

• She claimed to be with two or more different clients at the same time.
• She claimed to provide services when clients actually were in the hospital.
• She claimed to provide services when she was at her own medical appointments.
• She claimed to provide services at different locations without any travel time between them.

The indictment alleges she documented more than 750 work days that exceeded 24 hours, the highest of which totaled 39.5 hours.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. Health and Human Services and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s Medicaid Fraud Division investigated. Assistant Attorney General Stefani Hepford of the Kansas Attorney General’s Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway are prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

Shaun Lee Kendall, 29, and Michael Richard Wilkins, 21, both of whom are being held in the Shawnee County Jail, are charged are charged with one count of carjacking. The indictment alleges that on Jan. 29, 2014, in Shawnee County, Kan., they used force against a victim to steal a 1999 Dodge Dakota truck.

If convicted they face a maximum penalty of 15 years and a fine up to $250,000. The FBI investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

Kyle B. Rains, 30, Park City, Kan., is charged with two counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in February and March 2014 in Sedgwick County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the distribution counts, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession count. Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Task Force on Crimes Against Children and the Wichita Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart is prosecuting.

Kevin L. Cline, 55, Minneapolis, Kan., and C&R Plating of Minneapolis, are charged with 20 counts of violating the Clean Water Act, one count of making false statements to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, one count of failing to notify KDHE of changes to their wastewater pretreatment equipment, one count of failing to report a bypass of pretreatment equipment, and one count of illegally introducing pollutants into a sewer system.

The indictment alleges that pollutants from C&R Plating, a metal finishing business, were introduced into the sewer system of the City of Minneapolis, Kan.

 If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a fine up to $50,000 per day of violation on 23 of the 24 counts. The charge of introducing pollutants into a sewer system carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Environmental Protection Agency investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Hathaway is prosecuting.

Edith Misael Salas-Rangel, 27, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. She was found March 28, 2014, in Geary County, Kan.

If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.