Three Sentenced for Half-Million Dollar Health Care Fraud Conspiracy

ST. LOUIS -The former owner, office manager, and business manager of a St. Louis County, Missouri-based home health care company were sentenced Tuesday to prison time for health care fraud.

U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Doriann Morgan, 59, of St. Louis County, to two years in prison. Judge Pitlyk sentenced Thalisa Walton, 47, of Hazelwood, and Barbara Jackson, 59, of St. Louis, to a year and a day in prison. They have already paid $790,000 of the $910,000 they agreed to repay as part of a civil settlement. The final payment of $120,000 is due in March.

All three pleaded guilty in May to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. They admitted that from roughly January 2018 to August 2021, they conspired to submit $552,659 in fraudulent reimbursement claims to Missouri's Medicaid program for personal care services that were never provided.

The three submitted fraudulent claims for personal care services purportedly provided by Jackson for a woman who did not live in Missouri and received no services, their plea agreements say. They also submitted claims for providing services for clients at times when their own social media posts showed them doing something else.

Jackson was business manager of A Mother's Touch In-Home Care LLC, responsible for recruiting clients and assigning employees to provide care. Morgan owned the company and submitted Medicaid claims. Walton was office manager.

Morgan, Walton and Jackson are no longer affiliated in any way with A Mother's Touch In-Home Care LLC, which continues to do business under new ownership.

The civil settlement resolved allegations that Morgan, Walton and Jackson violated the False Claims Act by billing Missouri Medicaid using false timesheets and payroll records for in home services that were never provided. The civil settlement resolves claims brought under the "qui tam" or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Michele Bickley, who will receive $90,090. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery.
"Fraudulent claims submitted to the Missouri Medicaid program diverts scarce resources that should be used to provide legitimate services to those in need, including children and the disabled," said Special Agent in Charge Linda T. Hanley with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). "HHS-OIG will continue to partner with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to fight such Medicaid fraud schemes and protect the integrity of this safety net program."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Missouri Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Moore and Derek Wiseman handled the case.