ST. LOUIS—A business owner in St. Louis, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of defrauding Missouri Medicaid out of more than $3 million over the course of more than a decade.
Camille Childress, 40, was indicted on four counts of health care fraud. The indictment said Childress owned a home health care company, Inspiring Angels LLC, but concealed her ownership from state officials due to a criminal conviction from 2012. Childress submitted paperwork claiming that someone else owned the company. Additionally, the indictment said Childress submitted or caused to be submitted fraudulent claims to Missouri Medicaid, which sought reimbursement for home health care services that were never provided. In some of those cases, the care recipients were in the hospital and could not have received home health care. 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. However, the charges set forth in the indictment are accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt, according to United States Attorney’s Office.
“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 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 for Childress carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.
