Man Pleads Guilty To Theft Of Medicaid Funds

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Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Maurice Burks, 43, of East St Louis, Illinois, pled guilty today in federal district court to submitting false and fraudulent bills in relation to personal assistant services in the Home Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead of entering a nursing home.

The investigation determined that Burks, who was the personal assistant in this case, was falsifying time sheets with his brother in order to receive payments for time periods when his brother (who was the customer) was in the hospital and when Burks was working another job. Sentencing has been set for February 20, 2015. At that time, Burks will face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to 3 years of supervised release.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Illinois State Police’s Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ranley Killian and Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hallock.