A resident of Fort Mill, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court for conspiracy to defraud the Pennsylvania Medicaid program and healthcare fraud. Tia Collins, 45, was sentenced to four years’ probation, including six months of home detention for her role in the years-long conspiracy. Collins was also ordered to pay restitution to the Pennsylvania Medicaid program in the amount of $97,907.68. Collins admitted that between 2011 and 2017 she participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud the Pennsylvania Medicaid program for the purpose of obtaining illegal Medicaid payments through the submission of fraudulent claims for services that were never provided to the consumers identified on the claims, or for which there was insufficient or fabricated documentation to support the claims.
As part of the conspiracy, Collins admitted that she fabricated timesheets to reflect the provision of in-home personal assistance services (PAS) care that, in fact, she never provided to consumers. Collins also admitted that she caused the submission of Medicaid claims in the name of a “ghost” employee for PAS care that was never provided to the consumers specified on the claims. Collins also paid or caused other individuals to pay certain consumers cash kickbacks in exchange for the consumers’ participation in the fraudulent arrangement. Likewise, Collins admitted that she paid additional kickbacks to consumers out of the proceeds of fraudulent transportation reimbursements Collins caused Medicaid to disburse on behalf of the consumers. In total, Collins admitted causing losses to the Pennsylvania Medicaid program in excess of $150,000.
