Evergreen Reporter

The former owner, office manager, and business manager of a home health care company based in St. Louis County, Missouri, have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a health care fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk handed down the sentences on Tuesday.

Doriann Morgan, 59, from St. Louis County, received a two-year prison sentence. Thalisa Walton, 47, from Hazelwood, and Barbara Jackson, 59, from St. Louis were each sentenced to one year and one day in prison. The trio has already repaid $790,000 of the $910,000 they agreed to as part of a civil settlement; the remaining $120,000 is due by March.

In May, all three pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. They admitted to submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims totaling $552,659 to Missouri’s Medicaid program for services that were never provided between January 2018 and August 2021.

According to their plea agreements, fraudulent claims were submitted for personal care services allegedly provided by Jackson for an individual who did not reside in Missouri and received no services. Additionally, they filed claims during times when social media posts indicated they were engaged in other activities.

Jackson served as the business manager at A Mother’s Touch In-Home Care LLC and was responsible for recruiting clients and assigning employees for care provision. Morgan owned the company and was involved in submitting Medicaid claims while Walton managed office operations.

Morgan, Walton, and Jackson are no longer associated with A Mother’s Touch In-Home Care LLC; the company continues under new ownership.

The civil settlement addressed allegations that Morgan, Walton and Jackson violated the False Claims Act by billing Missouri Medicaid with false timesheets and payroll records for non-existent home services. The settlement also resolves claims brought under the “qui tam” provisions of the False Claims Act by whistleblower Michele Bickley who will receive $90,090.

“Fraudulent claims submitted to the Missouri Medicaid program divert scarce resources that should be used to provide legitimate services,” said Special Agent Linda T. Hanley with HHS-OIG. She added that HHS-OIG would continue collaborating with other agencies "to fight such Medicaid fraud schemes."

The case was investigated by HHS-OIG alongside the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Moore and Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.