DOJ nabs more home health, therapy fraudsters

A Detroit nurse pleaded guilty Friday to her role in a $24 million home health care fraud involving several care companies in the Detroit area.

During 2006-2012, Beverly Cooper, RN, fabricated nursing visit documents for home care services that weren’t needed or never happened, court documents noted. Cooper and her co-conspirators also “staged home health visits, posing as employees of these companies and treating fake patients, all to give inspectors the false impression that these companies’ operations were legitimate and that home health services were in fact being provided,” according to the Justice Department.

Cooper awaits a July sentencing, where she could be given a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

Earlier this month, Grace Healthcare, LLC, was ordered to pay $2.7 million for false billing claims submitted by its therapy provider affiliate, Grace Ancillary Services, according to a recent Justice Department settlement. The company provided unnecessary therapy services to patients at 10 different facilities to bolster its Medicare revenues during 2007-2011, according to Legal Newsline.

The whistleblower, a former Grace employee, will receive $405,000 in the suit. Grace operates 38 facilities, most of which are in Tennessee.

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.