Eugene Nyavor
An Illinois woman identified as Rhonda Sutton has been convicted by a federal jury for plotting to defraud Medicare of over $6 million.
According to the Department of Justice, court documents and evidence presented at trial indicated that Rhonda Sutton, 58, of Matteson, worked as an unlicensed medical assistant from at least 2009 to at least 2012.
During this time, Sutton conspired with two home health care business owners to fraudulently certify Medicare beneficiaries for home health services that they were not eligible for.
Specifically, Sutton forged her physician employer’s signature on certification forms and supporting documentation, which caused Medicare beneficiaries to be enrolled in over 2,000 episodes of home health care at A&Z and Dominion home health agencies, both located in Lansing, Illinois.
Sutton provided the forged physician forms to A&Z and Dominion, which enabled A&Z and Dominion to submit claims to Medicare for services that the beneficiaries did not need and were not qualified to receive.
The owners of A&Z and Dominion paid Sutton kickbacks in exchange for the forged physician forms. A&Z and Dominion received over $6 million from Medicare due to Sutton’s fraudulent conduct.
Sutton was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
