Owner Of Home Health Care Agency Sentenced To Five Years

NEWARK, N.J. - The owner of a home health agency was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for her role in a $7 million scheme to defraud Medicaid and engage in bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. 

Irina Krutoyarsky, 62, of Springfield, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, bribery, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and tax evasion. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:  

Krutoyarsky owned HHCH Health Care Inc., of Linden, New Jersey, which provided home health aides and health care services to New Jersey residents. Home health aides visit patients at their homes and provide a variety of health care services, such as assistance with eating, dressing, and grooming. These home health aide services were subsidized under the N.J. Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid).

Krutoyarsky and her conspirators defrauded Medicaid by submitting false documents to the N.J. Board of Nursing, the state agency responsible for issuing home health aide certifications. Krutoyarsky falsely represented that prospective home health aides had attended and satisfactorily completed required training and testing. In truth, Krutoyarsky charged prospective home health aides hundreds of dollars for fraudulently obtaining their certifications.   

Krutoyarsky also fraudulently billed Medicaid for services not actually rendered to patients. Numerous HHCH home health aides routinely falsified records that claimed they had visited patients and provided them health care services. These home health aides had other jobs, were on vacations overseas, or were in other parts of the state during the times they claimed they were with patients. Home health aides sometimes gave cash kickbacks to patients who were also participating in the scheme. Federal agents introduced a cooperating witness (CW), posing as a prospective home health aide to Krutoyarsky. During one meeting in January 2012, Krutoyarsky and another conspirator meet with the CW to discuss having him join the scheme to defraud Medicaid. In explaining the scheme, Krutoyarsky explained that they would fraudulently bill Medicaid to obtain “free money [from the] Government.”

Krutoyarsky hired individuals with no home health certifications and no status in the country and then sent them to patients’ homes. Krutoyarsky and her conspirators then billed Medicaid, fraudulently claiming that the services had been provided by duly certified home health aides. 

Krutoyarsky defrauded Medicaid out of $7 million. She directed certain home health aides to establish checking accounts at a bank near HHCH’s office and then took control of their checkbooks.  After Medicaid paid the claims and transferred the funds into HHCH accounts, Krutoyarsky then transferred portions of the money into the aides’ accounts and used the money to purchase, maintain, and pay for real property in New Jersey, New York, Florida; purchase personal property for her own use and benefit; and pay for personal expenses for her own use and benefit and the use and benefit of her family.

Krutoyarsky also bribed an employee of the N.J. Department of Labor (NJDOL), who was working in an undercover capacity with federal agents. In mid-2010, the NJDOL received a complaint that Krutoyarsky was not paying overtime wages to her employees and commenced an investigation. The department demanded Krutoyarsky produce certain HHCH records. Realizing that providing these records would reveal the Medicaid fraud scheme, Krutoyarsky paid approximately $10,000 in a cash bribe to the employee for the purpose of obstructing and unlawfully influencing the NJDOL investigation. The employee, however, was wearing a recording device and recorded Krutoyarsky making the bribe payment on video.

In May 2011, Krutoyarsky paid a second cash bribe of approximately $15,000 to the employee for the purpose of obstructing and unlawfully influencing a second NJDOL investigation related to one of Krutoyarsky’s conspirator’s companies. This bribe payment was also captured on video.  

Between 2007 and 2011, Krutoyarsky cheated the IRS out of $907,150 in taxes due and owing to the United States. She sent home health aides to the homes of patients who were not eligible for Medicaid. These patients wrote checks payable to HHCH. A conspirator cashed these checks at check-cashing businesses in New Jersey and equally divided the cash with Krutoyarsky. Krutoyarsky also issued HHCH checks to “no show” employees, who then wrote personal checks back to Krutoyarsky. On her corporate tax returns, she falsely characterized these payments as legitimate business deductions, thus reducing her business’ corporate taxes.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Krutoyarsky to three years of supervised release, ordered her to pay $7 million in restitution and entered a forfeiture order for $7 million, including forfeiture of her home in New Jersey and properties in New York City and Florida.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Acting N.J Attorney General Robert Lougy; Acting N.J. State Comptroller Philip James Degnan; Division Director Josh Lichtblau, Office of the State Comptroller, Medicaid Fraud Division; N.J. Division of Consumer Affairs, under the direction of Acting Director Steve C. Lee; the N.J. Board of Nursing; the N.J. Department of Labor, under the direction of Commissioner Harold J. Wirths; U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Diplomatic Security; and the Marlboro Police Department, under the direction of Chief Bruce Hall, for the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Gaeta and Anthony Moscato of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Today’s sentencing is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.  Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations.  Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants.  For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov

Defense counsel: Edward V. Sapone Esq., New York