Area Men Sentenced For Healthcare Fraud Crimes

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Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today, that Quincy O. Gamble, 39, of Cahokia, Illinois, and Lawrence Thigpen, 53, of Collinsville, Illinois, were sentenced on Friday, February 13, 2015, for engaging in a scheme to commit health care fraud by defrauding the Home Services Program, which is a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead of entering a nursing home.

The district court sentenced Gamble to five years of probation; two years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Gamble was also ordered to pay $6,704.89 in restitution to the Illinois Department of Human Services and to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. During his plea hearing, Gamble admitted that he had submitted false and fraudulent bills in relation to his alleged performance of personal assistant services for his girlfriend, April Hayes, totaling 711 hours over an eleven month period. He even admitted to submitting claims for six months after his girlfriend had passed away. As a result, Gamble improperly billed $7,836.56 in payments for services not performed.

In a separate matter, the district court sentenced Thigpen to 15 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and to pay a special assessment of $100.00. Restitution was also ordered in the amount of $4,591.15. Facts brought out in Court showed that Thigpen was falsifying time sheets in order for his girlfriend, who was also his personal assistant, to receive payments for time periods when she was actually in jail.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys, Ranley R. Killian, William E. Coonan, and Michael Hallock.

If you suspect or know of an individual or company that is not complying with healthcare laws or public aid programs, you may report this activity to the local office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, or you may call 1.800.447.8477.