The former owner and operator of a Missouri assisted living community has paid a $150,000 settlement in a Medicaid fraud case for falsely billing services that were not provided.
Brook Fears was charged with filing 148 false claims to MO HealthNet for personal care and nursing services for six Medicaid beneficiaries who lived at the former Shady Oaks Retirement Home in Poplar Bluff, MO. The claims were filed between Jan. 1, 2018, and June 23, 2019.
The settlement, entered in early June with the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, included $106,615.42 in full restitution, and $43,384.58 in penalties. Fears was facing civil penalties ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 per false claim, plus damages up to three times that amount and investigative costs.
According to Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Fears could not produce documentation to prove that certain services were provided, including plans of care for residents, daily service logs of personal care services, and proof of on-site nursing visits or annual personal care aide assessments.
