An El Paso, TX, woman and her nephew were arrested last week on healthcare fraud charges for using senior living residents to submit fraudulent Medicare claims.
Zenia Chavez, owner of Nursemind Home Health, and Raul Alejandro Fuentes, her nephew and employee, are accused of enrolling residents of senior living communities and boarding homes in a Nursemind hospice program. The residents did not need hospice care and were not terminally ill, according to an announcement from the Justice Department.
The two are accused of creating false and fraudulent medical records for the residents, forging health personnel signatures and submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare. Chavez also is charged with offering kickbacks for client referrals to Nursemind.
Chavez and Fuentes each are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and 14 counts of healthcare fraud. Chavez also is charged with one count of conspiracy, for illegal remunerations regarding a federal healthcare program, and 11 counts of illegal remunerations regarding a federal healthcare program.
The pair each face a maximum 10 years in prison on each healthcare fraud count. Chavez faces an additional five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and 10 years on each of the illegal remuneration counts.
The FBI and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.
