St. Louis County Woman Accused of $3 Million Home Health Care Fraud

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County business owner was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday and accused of defrauding Missouri Medicaid out of more than $3 million over more than a decade.

Camille S. Childress, 40, was indicted on four counts of health care fraud. The indictment says Childress owned a home health care company, Inspiring Angels LLC, but concealed her ownership from state officials due to a 2012 criminal conviction. Childress submitted paperwork claiming that someone else owned the company, the indictment says. It also says that Childress submitted or caused to be submitted fraudulent claims to Missouri Medicaid seeking reimbursement for home healthcare services that were never provided. In some cases, the care recipients were in the hospital and could not have received home healthcare, the indictment says. On numerous other occasions, Childress or Inspiring Angels submitted claims when the company did not have any timesheet records or documentation of the services because the services that were the subject of those claims were never provided, the indictment says.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“The alleged fraudulent enrollment and submission of false claims by this business owner to Medicaid undermines the integrity of the program and diverts essential resources from those who genuinely need assistance,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue collaborating with the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to combat home health care fraud in Medicaid, ensuring the program remains sustainable for those who truly depend on it.”

Each fraud charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.