St. Louis Home Healthcare Owner Indicted for $800k Fraud of Medicaid, VA Systems

TL/DR –

Natavia Boyd-Wells, owner of a home healthcare company, has been indicted on charges of defrauding the Missouri Medicaid Program and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of over $800,000. Boyd-Wells allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for services not rendered, including instances where patients were in hospital and couldn’t have received home care. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are investigating the case.

Home Healthcare Owner Charged for $800,000 Fraud Against Missouri Medicaid and U.S. Veterans Department

The owner of a home healthcare agency, Natavia Boyd-Wells, has been indicted over accusations of defrauding Missouri Medicaid and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of over $800,000. Boyd-Wells, proprietor of Touch of the Heart Home Health Care LLC, is now facing charges of wire fraud and making false healthcare-related statements.

Boyd-Wells enrolled her company in Missouri Medicaid and the Veterans Affairs Community Care Network in 2020, and proceeded to submit fraudulent reimbursement claims to both agencies. These facilities fund home healthcare services to enable patients to stay in their homes, bypassing longer inpatient stays in hospitals and nursing facilities.

According to the indictment, Boyd-Wells lodged hundreds of fraudulent claims for services she knew were unprovided. In some instances, the patients, who were veterans, were hospitalized and hence, could not have received the alleged home healthcare services. Boyd-Wells is further accused of falsifying electronic documentation of patient visits to Missouri Medicaid in 2022, upon audit request. She is also charged with fraudulent claims to the Veterans Affairs department, suggesting her patients received over 24 hours of care in a single day.

Missouri Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs reportedly funded over $197,022 and $600,000, respectively, to a bank account controlled by Boyd-Wells. However, charges in an indictment are merely accusations and do not confirm guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Emphasizing the seriousness of the accusations, Special Agent Gregory Billingsley from the Department of Veterans Affairs OIG stated, “This indictment should send a clear message that the VA Office of Inspector General will vigorously investigate those who seek to defraud VA healthcare programs.” The case investigation was conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman leading the prosecution.

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