Chesterfield woman convicted of nine counts of health care fraud
By Frank Green
Published: June 24, 2010
A Chesterfield County woman was convicted in federal court yesterday of nine counts of health-care fraud allegedly involving $601,580 in bogus Medicaid claims.
Denise C. McCreary, 43, was convicted by a jury and faces a maximum punishment of 90 years in prison and $2.25 million in fines when sentenced by U.S. District Cour Judge Henry E. Hudson on Sept. 17.
Evidence showed that McCreary owned and operated Camp Hope Youth Services, a Medicaid-contracted provider of intensive in-home therapy services for children and adolescents.
The services, offered by Medicaid in Virginia, are designed to help youths at risk of being removed from their homes, or who are being returned to their homes after removal, because of significant mental-health, behavioral or emotional issues.
Medicaid requires that the providers of such services employ qualified mental-health workers.
However, McCreary billed Medicaid for services that were not reimbursable because the services did not address a child's specific mental-health issues, were not provided by qualified mental-health workers and were not provided to children who were in need of the services.
She also billed Medicaid for services that were never provided.
The FBI and the Virginia Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. It was prosecuted by Michael C. Moore, an assistant U.S. Attorney, and Joseph E.H. Atkinson, a special assistant U.S. attorney.