Six Charged in Maine Health Care Fraud Case: Company Accused of Billing More Than $600,000 for Care Never Provided
Six people tied to a home care company in South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, were arrested on October 27 after being indicted by a federal grand jury. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine announced that the six are charged with health care fraud conspiracy and that the company itself is also charged; two of them additionally face charges of obstructing a health care fraud investigation, and another is charged with making false statements.
The defendants are Noora Abd, 37, Faysal Kalayaf Manahe, 51, Adel Al Rashid, 47, Sura Almohammed, 47, Ether Alyaseen, 46, and Mohammed Alkhalaf, 41, along with Community Home Health Care LLC. According to the indictment, Community is a licensed personal care agency headquartered in South Portland, owned and operated by Noora Abd, with the other defendants employed as personal support specialists and in other capacities. Through Abd, the company billed and was paid by MaineCare, Maine's Medicaid program, for personal care services.
The indictment alleges the defendants submitted false Electronic Visit Verifications claiming to have performed personal care services for clients when the services had not been performed, and that since 2020, Community and Abd submitted numerous claims for services purportedly provided to a single client totaling more than $600,000.
U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Benson said health care fraud costs everyone and that protecting the integrity of federally funded health care programs is paramount. The case was investigated by the FBI's Boston Division, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from Maine's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative.
If convicted of health care fraud conspiracy, the defendants face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or twice the total loss, and up to three years of supervised release; obstruction and false statement convictions each carry up to five years. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Portland 的 Edward T. Gignoux 联邦法院大楼，缅因区联邦法院所在地。照片：美国总务管理局（GSA）、公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse in Portland, Maine. Photo: U.S. General Services Administration, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
