NILES, MI – A Niles couple pleaded guilty to two felony counts each of Medicaid fraud, according to a Thursday announcement by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Gregory Barney, owner of the Highland Counseling Center in Niles and a licensed marriage and family counselor, was charged alongside his wife and the center’s office manager Jacquelyn, officials said.
On March 22, they both pleaded guilty to two counts each of fraud, a felony punishable up to four years in prison on each count, officials said. Both also agreed to pay $48,000 in restitution to the Medicaid program, officials said.
The wife took patient information from another practice while she worked as a biller for a separate medical office, officials said. She then billed Medicaid for counseling sessions provided by her husband and the center, but these sessions were never fulfilled, officials said.
Source: Michigan couple pleads guilty to Medicaid fraud, AG’s office says / mlive.com
Wouldn’t happen on our watch. The largest vulnerability is no-factor authentication that the patient and caregiver were in the same place at the same time. We addressed that. And Michigan (and all Medicaid plans) damn well know it.