Kristal Glover-Wing, the former owner of Louisiana-based Angel Care Hospice, has been found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Angel Care enrolled 24 patients in hospice between 2009 through 2017 who did not meet Medicare eligibility requirements. None of these patients had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and several are still alive several years later, according to evidence presented at trial.
Nevertheless, the company received more than $1.5 million in improper Medicare payments for those patients.
“Krystal Glover-Wing defrauded the government and we thank the jury for holding her accountable. We will now move forward to her sentencing hearing,” U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown said in a statement. “I thank the trial team and investigators for staying the course throughout years of investigating and a hard-fought trial.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated the case in collaboration with the FBI.
Though a federal jury handed down a guilty verdict for Glover-Wing, physicians employed by Angel Care were acquitted.
“Although the doctors in this case were ultimately acquitted, we as prosecutors present the facts to a federal grand jury when we truly believe there has been a violation of federal law that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” Brown said. “Furthermore, if the grand jury decides to indict, we are not afraid to proceed to trial and give a federal trial jury the chance to ultimately decide someone’s guilt or innocence based on the evidence that we have.”
Glover-Wing faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit health care fraud charge, up to 10 years in prison on the health care fraud charges and three years of supervised release. She may also be fined as much as $250,000.
“Whenever Medicare providers are motivated by greed, our most vulnerable citizens, the elderly, are put at risk,” OIG Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jeff Richards said in a statement. “HHS-OIG agents will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate providers who loot the Medicare Trust Fund.”
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