The final defendant in a nearly $1 million healthcare fraud scheme pled guilty on Aug. 29.
Jamahl Rennelle Burch, aka Jarod or Jerrod Burch, 43, of Hampton, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Burch is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, and he faces up to 10 years in prison for the healthcare fraud counts and a minimum of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other term of imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, from May 2015 through November 2023, Burch identified and selected Medicaid recipients to sign up for Medicaid reimbursed personal care or respite care services.
Burch and his co-conspirators executed agreements that designated numerous different individuals as Personal Care Attendants, or PCAs, for those recipients. The conspirators used the personal identifying information of the Medicaid recipients and purported PCAs to create accounts for the submission of timesheets for purported personal care and respite care services.
Personal care services include a range of support services to enable Medicaid recipients to remain at or return home rather than enter a nursing facility and include assistance with activities of daily living, access to the community, self-administration of medication, or other medical needs, supervision and the monitoring of health status and physical condition.
For more than eight years, the conspirators submitted fraudulent timesheets to Medicaid showing thousands of hours of personal care and respite care services. Burch and his coconspirators approved these timesheets attesting that services were provided, when none of the PCAs provided any personal or respite care services to the Medicaid recipients.
In total, Burch and his co-conspirators knowingly caused Medicaid to pay at least $936,950.70 in fraudulent reimbursements.
Tonisha Staton, 36, of Hampton, and William Carter Jr., 40, of Newport News, were Medicaid recipients and acquaintances of Burch.
Carter signed up to receive personal care and respite care services and purportedly hired seven PCAs. None of the seven PCAs provided any services to Carter. In total, the conspirators submitted $262,373.27 in fraudulent timesheets to Medicaid.
In 2016, Staton signed up to receive personal care and respite care services and allegedly hired 10 different PCAs, none of whom ever provided any services to her. The conspirators submitted $228,972.44 in fraudulent timesheets to Medicaid.
Jesse Jerome Hendren, 46, of Henrico, signed up his relative, a Medicaid recipient not identified in court records, to receive personal care and respite care services in 2017. Hendren and his co-conspirators purportedly hired two people as PCAs, neither of whom provided any services. The conspirators submitted $150,425.99 in fraudulent timesheets to Medicaid.
Staton, Carter and Hendren pled guilty in February to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Each faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced next year.
The Virginia Department of Medical Assistive Services Fraud and Abuse Referral Hotline is available for concerned citizens to report allegations related to inappropriate use of Medicaid benefits.
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Crystal Graham
