Skip to main content
Press Release

Former Shelby County Couple Indicted For Health Care Fraud Violations

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

BEAUMONT, Texas – A Center, Texas, couple now living in Elgin, Texas, has been indicted and charged with health care fraud violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today. 

Bill Harvill, 59, and his wife, Cathy Harvill, 56, were indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 27, 2013, and charged with theft of government money.  They were arrested on June 7, 2013, in Elgin, Texas, and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Zachary J. Hawthorn today for an initial appearance.

 According to the indictment, from January 2007 to June 2010, the Harvills submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid in order to receive more than $624,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services. 

If convicted, the Harvills each face up to10 years in federal prison.

The Medicare Program (Medicare) is a health care benefit program which provides benefits to persons who are over the age of sixty-five and some persons under the age of sixty-five who are blind or disabled.  The Texas Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) is a health care benefit program, jointly funded by the State of Texas and the federal government, and helps pay for reasonable and necessary medical procedures and services provided to individuals who are deemed eligible under state low-income programs.

This case is being investigated by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Texas Office of the Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (OAG-MFCU).  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld is prosecuting this case.

A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a cour


Updated March 12, 2015