Woodbridge Woman Convicted of Defrauding Medicaid of Nearly $1 Million

• From an FBI press release:

Yanick Pierre, 51, of Woodbridge, VA, was convicted Sept. 8 by a federal jury of fraudulently billing Medicaid nearly $1 million from August 2008 to May 2010.

Pierre was convicted of 13 counts of health fraud, which each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2, 2011.

Pierre was the office manager and administrator for First Call Home Health, a home health care business that provided home health aides and private duty nursing care to individuals so they may remain at home rather than in a hospital or nursing facility. First Call received payment for its home health services provided to Medicaid-eligible individuals through the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), which is responsible for paying medical service producers for care and services received by Medicaid recipients in Virginia.        

According to court records, Pierre submitted false claims to a DMAS intermediary for home health services to Medicaid recipients when she knew the services were not provided. The total loss attributed to the fraudulent billing is at least $979,000.        

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Virginia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Belevetz and Special Assistant United States Attorney Steven W. Grist of the Virginia Attorney General’s Office are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.