James and Wynsleen Ellegood et al. Press Release (Indictment)

August 22, 2008
For Immediate Release

DESOTO DOCTOR, HIS WIFE, ONE ST. LOUIS DOCTOR & THREE COMPANIES INDICTED ON FEDERAL HEALTHCARE FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES

St. Louis, MO: James and Wynsleen Ellegood, Rajitha Goli and three companies have been indicted on charges of submitting false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for non-rendered physician home visits and money laundering, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

Dr. James Harold Ellegood and his wife Wynsleen, a nurse, operated Missouri Physician Home Services, Inc. (PHS)from their home in Desoto, Missouri. Dr. Rajitha Goli of St. Louis provided medical services to patients of James Ellegood and PHS.

Goli’s license to practice medicine in Missouri was revoked following her 2002 federal felony conviction for health care fraud, making her ineligible to practice medicine in Missouri until at least 2010. As a result of the conviction, she was also excluded for 20 years from participation in Medicare and Medicaid as a provider and may not submit claims for services to Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Hanford Nuclear Services, Inc., West Plains, Missouri, provides consulting services and is owned by Rengarajan Soundararajan, PhD, a chemist, who is the brother-in-law of Wynsleen Ellegood. Arogya, Inc., Durham, North Carolina, is a medical consulting company owned and operated by Goli’s two brothers, who are also medical doctors.

The indictment alleges that the Ellegoods’ hired nurses and nurse practitioners as independent contractors to provide services to patients in their homes. James Ellegood, or a PHS employee at his direction, assigned his patients to the nurses who made unaccompanied home visits to the patients. James Ellegood took the patient charts to Shephard’s Funeral Home on Natural Bridge Road, in St. Louis, for nurses to pick up prior to their visits to patients’ homes. They returned the charts to Shepard’s after the visits. Shepard’s Funeral Home is owned by the daughter and son-in-law of the Ellegoods.

According to the indictment, James Ellegood signed numerous patient charts for physician home visits conducted by the registered nurses and nurse practitioners, falsely representing that he had personally provided the service, when he was not present in the home and in some instances was out of town or out of the country. The Ellegoods’ submitted over 300 claims that falsely represented that James Ellegood had personally made home visits to patients in Missouri, when he was in fact in Mexico or the Bahamas. The Ellegoods used James Ellegood’s provider number on the claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid and thereby falsely represented that he had personally visited the patients in their homes.

Additionally, the indictment states that the Ellegoods submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid with his provider number for services provided by Rajitha Goli, when they knew that she was not licensed in Missouri as a physician and had been excluded as a Medicare and Medicaid provider. They allegedly concealed payments to Rajitha Goli by sending money to Hanford Nuclear Services and Arogya, which in turn paid Rajitha Goli.

JAMES HAROLD ELLEGOOD and WYNSLEEN K. ELLEGOOD, both of Desoto, Missouri; RAJITHA GOLI, St. Louis, Missouri; PHYSICIAN HOME SERVICES, INC.; HANFORD NUCLEAR SERVICES, INC. and AROGYA, INC., were indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, making false statements to Medicare and Medicaid and money laundering.

If convicted, each count of conspiracy and making false statements carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; each count of money laundering carries maximum penalties of 10 to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $500,000.

Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General-Office of Investigations; U.S. Department of Labor-Office of the Inspector General and Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy McMurtry, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI CATHERINE L. HANAWAY United States Attorney	NEWS RELEASE
For further information: Call Public Affairs Officer Jan Diltz at (314) 539-7719
August 22, 2008 For Immediate Release DESOTO DOCTOR, HIS WIFE, ONE ST. LOUIS DOCTOR & THREE COMPANIES INDICTED ON FEDERAL HEALTHCARE FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES St. Louis, MO: James and Wynsleen Ellegood, Rajitha Goli and three companies have been indicted on charges of submitting false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for non-rendered physician home visits and money laundering, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today. Dr. James Harold Ellegood and his wife Wynsleen, a nurse, operated Missouri Physician Home Services, Inc. (PHS)from their home in Desoto, Missouri. Dr. Rajitha Goli of St. Louis provided medical services to patients of James Ellegood and PHS. Goli’s license to practice medicine in Missouri was revoked following her 2002 federal felony conviction for health care fraud, making her ineligible to practice medicine in Missouri until at least 2010. As a result of the conviction, she was also excluded for 20 years from participation in Medicare and Medicaid as a provider and may not submit claims for services to Medicare and Medicaid patients. Hanford Nuclear Services, Inc., West Plains, Missouri, provides consulting services and is owned by Rengarajan Soundararajan, PhD, a chemist, who is the brother-in-law of Wynsleen Ellegood. Arogya, Inc., Durham, North Carolina, is a medical consulting company owned and operated by Goli’s two brothers, who are also medical doctors. The indictment alleges that the Ellegoods’ hired nurses and nurse practitioners as independent contractors to provide services to patients in their homes. James Ellegood, or a PHS employee at his direction, assigned his patients to the nurses who made unaccompanied home visits to the patients. James Ellegood took the patient charts to Shephard’s Funeral Home on Natural Bridge Road, in St. Louis, for nurses to pick up prior to their visits to patients’ homes. They returned the charts to Shepard’s after the visits. Shepard’s Funeral Home is owned by the daughter and son-in-law of the Ellegoods. According to the indictment, James Ellegood signed numerous patient charts for physician home visits conducted by the registered nurses and nurse practitioners, falsely representing that he had personally provided the service, when he was not present in the home and in some instances was out of town or out of the country. The Ellegoods’ submitted over 300 claims that falsely represented that James Ellegood had personally made home visits to patients in Missouri, when he was in fact in Mexico or the Bahamas. The Ellegoods used James Ellegood’s provider number on the claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid and thereby falsely represented that he had personally visited the patients in their homes. Additionally, the indictment states that the Ellegoods submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid with his provider number for services provided by Rajitha Goli, when they knew that she was not licensed in Missouri as a physician and had been excluded as a Medicare and Medicaid provider. They allegedly concealed payments to Rajitha Goli by sending money to Hanford Nuclear Services and Arogya, which in turn paid Rajitha Goli. JAMES HAROLD ELLEGOOD and WYNSLEEN K. ELLEGOOD, both of Desoto, Missouri; RAJITHA GOLI, St. Louis, Missouri; PHYSICIAN HOME SERVICES, INC.; HANFORD NUCLEAR SERVICES, INC. and AROGYA, INC., were indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, making false statements to Medicare and Medicaid and money laundering. If convicted, each count of conspiracy and making false statements carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; each count of money laundering carries maximum penalties of 10 to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $500,000. Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General-Office of Investigations; U.S. Department of Labor-Office of the Inspector General and Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy McMurtry, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.