The onetime owner of a Twin Cities home-health-care company has been accused of cheating Medicaid out of more than $400,000 through bogus billing.
John A. Momoh, 51, of Brooklyn Park, was charged in federal court this week with 23 counts of health-care fraud and 18 counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the U.S. attorney's office:
In March 2007, the state Health Department began investigating the billing practices of Hopecare Services Inc. of Brooklyn Park, Momoh's company, after it billed Medicaid for more services than were actually reported. The department advised Momoh on how to correct the problem, and he repaid the flagged claims.
However, the department received additional complaints about Hopecare's billing practices, and a second audit was conducted five months later and turned up continued billing of Medicaid for unsupported claims.
The indictment alleges that from May 2007 to March 2008, Momoh submitted to Medicaid false claims for personal care assistant services and engaged in identity theft as part of the purported fraud.
If convicted, he faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each health-care fraud count and a mandatory minimum penalty of two years for aggravated identity theft.
PAUL WALSH
