A federal grand jury in Benton, Illinois, returned a six-count indictment charging Theresa Kelly, 56, of Herrin, Illinois, with engaging in a scheme to seek approved medical leave and reasonable accommodations from her former employer without valid documentation. Kelly was also charged with submitting false medical documents in connection with a 2020 lawsuit against the VA, as well as a scheme to bill Medicare for services that she did not provide at a Southern Illinois nursing home. Kelly, a licensed clinical psychologist, was employed by the VA at its medical center in Marion, Illinois.
According to court documents, between November 2016 and August 2020, Kelly submitted fraudulent medical documentation in the name of real and fake medical providers as part of the approval process for reasonable accommodations and medical leave, including FMLA leave. The indictment alleges that Kelly provided the VA with letters and documentation purportedly from a “Dr. K. William Dixon” and “Amy J. Aron, PhD.” that detailed those providers’ alleged treatment of Kelly. Investigators later determined that there were no medical providers by the name of “Dr. K. William Dixon” or “Amy J. Aron, PhD.” practicing in Illinois, and that the documents submitted by Kelly were fraudulent. Kelly is also charged with submitting false medical documents that bore the forged signature of two legitimate medical providers.
In addition to her submission of fraudulent medical documents, the indictment alleges that between May 2016 and January 2018, Kelly engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare and obtain payment for psychiatric services that she did not provide to residents of a Southern Illinois nursing home. In addition to her full-time job at the VA, Kelly owned a company by the name of TS Onsite Mental Health through which she claimed to provide psychotherapy sessions to patients at Shawnee Christian Nursing Center in Herrin, Illinois. According to the indictment, Kelly billed Medicare for over 400 claims—worth more than $54,000—for services that she did not provide. Kelly billed for at least some of the services on days she was on approved medical leave from the VA.
