Ghost sessions at Los Angeles treatment center lead to six arrests
Source: editor@cslea.com
Date: 4/15/2010
Counseling sessions with no one in attendance are not illegal, billing Medi-Cal for them is.
The ghost sessions conducted at New Beginnings Recovery Treatment Center in Los Angeles have led to the arrest of six former employees, thanks to the work of two very real Special Agents, Paul Ramirez and Jody Hope.
The six were arrested March 23 on charges of felony grand theft and filing false Medi-Cal claims. All are looking at a maximum sentence of three years in state prison, if convicted. Bail has been set at $68,000 for Tatyana Yakovenko and at $40,000 for the other five defendants.
"These individuals stole tens of thousands of dollars from the state's alcohol and drug treatment programs," said Attorney General Jerry Brown in a news release. "In this time of economic crisis, it's brazen and offensive that these individuals chose to rip off public health programs instead of helping substance abusers get their lives together."
According to DOJ's news release, "Between July 1, 2005 and May 30, 2009, New Beginnings owner Tatyana Yakovenko and her associates submitted 1,642 fraudulent claims totaling more than $68,000 to the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP.)
"Under a contract established with the Los Angeles County Alcohol and Drug Programs Administration, New Beginnings provided alcohol and drug treatment services to Medi-Cal patients. Certified as a Substance Abuse Clinic in January 2002, New Beginnings operated four treatment centers in Los Angeles County ... [Ramirez and Hope's] investigation found that New Beginnings owner Tatyana Yakovenko and five members of the center's upper management required therapists and group counselors to 'ghost write' counseling sessions that were never performed and forge group therapy sign-in sheets. The investigation uncovered that as many as half of the Medi-Cal claims filed by New Beginnings were fraudulent."
Ramirez and Hope are Special Agents at DOJ's Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse. BMFEA agents:
- Investigate criminal fraud committed against the state medical assistance program
- Respond to physical and sexual abuse of elder and dependent adults
- Inspect neglect by facility staff and corporations
- Investigate diversions of legal pharmaceuticals for illegal purposes
In one celebrated case in 2008, BMFEA agents arrested two physicians and 14 other people in the Los Angeles area for fraudulently billing the Medi-Cal program $2 million. Several pregnant women were recruited to enroll in the program and generate false claims for treatment never received.
"The fine work Agents Ramirez and Hoped did in the New Beginnings case shows how absolutely indispensible our members are in protecting the Medi-Cal system against rampant abuse and potential insolvency," said CSLEA President and Special Agent Alan Barcelona. "Everyone gains from their work: honest healthcare providers, patients in need of treatment, and the California taxpayer."
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