MA Attorney General: Owner of Medical Transportation Company Arraigned for Billing Taxpayers for Rides Under Dead People’s Names Cross Roads Trolley in Webster Allegedly Received More than $470,000 in Payments for Medical Transportation Services Never Provided BOSTON – The owner of a medical transportation company in Webster has been arraigned in connection with defrauding the state’s Medicaid program of more than $470,000 by billing for services under the names of deceased individuals, and for other medical trips that were never provided, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today. Cynthia J. Keegan, 50, of Webster, was arraigned today in Worcester Superior Court on charges of Larceny over $250 (7 counts) and Medicaid False Claims (7 counts). Keegan pleaded not guilty to all charges before Judge James Lemire and was released on personal recognizance. The AG’s investigation into the matter, after being referred by the state’s Medicaid program (MassHealth), revealed that Keegan, owner of Keegan Enterprises, LLC, d/b/a Cross Roads Trolley, allegedly falsely billed for rides provided to more than 40 individuals after their death, and under the names of a dozen residents at two different nursing homes who never actually received rides on the claimed dates of service. Cross Roads Trolley is a privately held wheelchair van company that provides non-emergency medical transportation services when personal transportation is not suitable due to the MassHealth member’s physical condition. According to the AG’s Office, Keegan, over a five-year period, allegedly submitted more than 8,300 fraudulent transportation claims for 12 residents at two nursing facilities in West Brookfield, and received payments totaling more than $400,000. The AG’s investigation found that the billed services were actually for individuals that rarely left the nursing facility for medical care, or didn’t reside there on the claimed dates of service. Keegan also allegedly submitted more than 1,500 claims to MassHealth under the names of 47 deceased MassHealth members. In one case, Keegan repeatedly billed MassHealth for transportation services more than five months after a woman’s death. Of the 1,500 false claims that were submitted, only 152 claims were actually paid out for a total of $6,900. The rest of the claims under those names were rejected by MassHealth. In addition, Keegan allegedly billed for rides under the names of at least four other MassHealth members who were not transported to obtain covered medical services on the claimed dates of service. These additional 1,000 false claims resulted in payments totaling nearly $70,000. A Worcester Grand Jury returned indictments against Keegan and Cross Roads Trolley last month. Keegan is due back in court on Nov. 21 for a pretrial conference. Cross Roads Trolley has also been scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 21. Assistant Attorney General Ian R. Marinoff is prosecuting this case as part of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division. This case was investigated by Dean Bates, Robert Ames, and Jack D’Isidoro also from the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 15:41:11 +0000
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