MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court in St. Paul, the owner of a home health care agency was sentenced for defrauding Medicaid and obtaining more than $650,000 through false billing. United States District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson sentenced John Alemoh Momoh, age 52, of Brooklyn Park, to 24 months in prison on one count of health care fraud. Momoh was charged on April 12, 2011, and pleaded guilty on September 29, 2011.
In his plea agreement, Momoh admitted that from May of 2007 through March of 2008, he submitted false claims billing Medicaid for personal care assistance (“PCA”) services. The claims were false in multiple ways, including regarding the hours of services provided, the PCA providing those services, and the type of services provided. In addition, claims lacked required documentation and were sometimes submitted for services not medically necessary. Momoh also submitted claims for PCA services provided by an individual who was disqualified from the program for safety reasons.
The fraudulent claims were made to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (“DHS”), which administers the federal Medicaid program here in Minnesota. Momoh owned Hopecare Services, Inc., located in Brooklyn Park. In March of 2007, DHS opened an investigation into Hopecare’s billing practices after a Medicaid recipient complained about Momoh’s billing. After reviewing this complaint, DHS twice notified Momoh that he had billed improperly, both by an agency notice explaining Momoh’s false billing and by meeting with Momoh in person. Despite these warnings, Momoh continued to fraudulently bill Medicaid, submitting more than 800 fraudulent claims for PCA services in less than one year.
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