Owner of Home Health Care Agency is Sentenced for Defrauding Medicaid Out of More Than $650,000

MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court in St. Paul, the owner of a home health care agency was sentenced for defrauding Medicaid and obtaining more than $650,000 through false billing. United States District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson sentenced John Alemoh Momoh, age 52, of Brooklyn Park, to 24 months in prison on one count of health care fraud. Momoh was charged on April 12, 2011, and pleaded guilty on September 29, 2011.

In his plea agreement, Momoh admitted that from May of 2007 through March of 2008, he submitted false claims billing Medicaid for personal care assistance (“PCA”) services. The claims were false in multiple ways, including regarding the hours of services provided, the PCA providing those services, and the type of services provided. In addition, claims lacked required documentation and were sometimes submitted for services not medically necessary. Momoh also submitted claims for PCA services provided by an individual who was disqualified from the program for safety reasons.

The fraudulent claims were made to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (“DHS”), which administers the federal Medicaid program here in Minnesota. Momoh owned Hopecare Services, Inc., located in Brooklyn Park. In March of 2007, DHS opened an investigation into Hopecare’s billing practices after a Medicaid recipient complained about Momoh’s billing. After reviewing this complaint, DHS twice notified Momoh that he had billed improperly, both by an agency notice explaining Momoh’s false billing and by meeting with Momoh in person. Despite these warnings, Momoh continued to fraudulently bill Medicaid, submitting more than 800 fraudulent claims for PCA services in less than one year.

This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann M. Bildtsen, David M. Genrich and D. Gerald Wilhelm.

This case continues efforts at combating health care fraud, including health care fraud in the home health care industry. In April of this year (http://www.justice.gov/usao/mn/press/apr019.pdf) owners of several home health care agencies were indicted on allegations of defrauding Medicaid. Those prosecutions built on prior home health care cases successfully prosecuted at the federal and state levels.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office participates in a task force with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office that focuses on home health care fraud trends. The task force includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.

As a result of federal convictions for health care fraud, defendants are excluded from participating in federal health benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Exclusion determinations are made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nationwide, more than 3,000 individuals were excluded from program participation in Fiscal Year 2010 based upon criminal convictions or patient abuse or neglect, license revocations, or other factors.

For more information, visit http://www.stopmedicarefraud.gov/