Area Women Plead Guilty To Medicaid Funds Fraud

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Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that on September 25, 2014, Tamekia Hall, 38, of East St. Louis, Illinois, pled guilty to submitting false and fraudulent bills in relation to personal assistant services in the Home Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead of entering a nursing home. The investigation determined that Hall was falsifying time sheets in order receive personal assistant payments during times when the customer was actually in the hospital. Also, on today’s date, Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Maketa Davis 33, of East St. Louis, Illinois, pled guilty to submitting false and fraudulent bills in relation to personal assistant services in the Home Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead of entering a nursing home. The investigation determined that Davis was falsifying time sheets in order receive personal assistant payments during times when she was actually working at Lessie Bates Home.

Both of these cases resulted from United States Attorney Wigginton’s emphasis on targeting those involved in the blatant theft of funds from cash-strapped programs designed to help persons in need. “These are just another two prosecutions in the long line of successes stemming from these operations, dubbed, ‘Home Alone.’ While not representing enormous thefts, the importance of these cases lies in the recovery of the funds and in the message sent to potential thieves – do so at your peril.” United States Attorney Wigginton noted.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Illinois State Police’s Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau. These cases are being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hallock.