Press Releases
EMPLOYEE OF LOCAL MEDICAID AGENCY PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL HEALTH CARE OFFENSE
November 4, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CRYSTAL BLACK, age 35, a resident of Harvey, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan to a one count Bill of Information charging health care fraud, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.
According to the factual basis, CRYSTAL BLACK was an employee of A New Beginning of New Orleans, Inc.(ANBNO), a Medicaid Provider located in Harvey, Louisiana that made claims for Personal Care Services it claimed to have provided to Medicaid recipients. Personal Care Services (PCS) are Medicaid services provided by attendants to eligible recipients meeting the medical necessity criteria who are unable to care for themselves. The bill of information alleged that ANBNO solicited mothers with children who had Medicaid benefits to apply for PCS. It is alleged that in many cases, a false prescription for PCS was created and transmitted to Medicaid; and in other cases, true prescriptions were transmitted relative to children with true disabilities.
It was further alleged that after Medicaid approved the PCS applications, false documentation containing employees’ time sheets and daily schedules which detailed the services rendered to Medicaid child recipients was created by employees of ANBNO and parents of the Medicaid recipient children.
In a related case, AKASIA LEE, ANBNO owner/operator, QUEBAN LEE, UNA FAVORITE BROWN and MELINDA LANGLEY, ANBNO employees, and ERNESTINE GIROD a mother of Medicaid recipients, who were charged in multiple counts of conspiracy and health care fraud, are scheduled for trial on March 9, 2009. From the time of the inception of ANBNO through May 4, 2005, when a federal search warrant was executed at the business location of ANBNO, it is alleged that Medicaid paid approximately $3,977,288 as a result of the fraudulent claims made by ANBNO and its employees.
CRYSTAL BLACK faces up a possible maximum sentence of ten (10) years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing has been scheduled for February 18, 2009.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Patrice Harris Sullivan.
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