HARRISBURG, PA — The owner of an Erie County home care agency was sentenced this week to 11 to 23 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.8 million in restitution after pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud and charges tied to the neglect of vulnerable residents, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Tina Bell, 56, owner and manager of Superior Health Inc., also received six years of probation and will be barred from serving as a Medicaid provider. She was taken to prison following Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
Bell previously pleaded guilty to felony counts of Medicaid fraud, tampering with public records and neglect of a care-dependent person, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Superior Health received Medicaid reimbursement for multiple shared-care homes. Prosecutors said Bell billed the program for services that were not provided and falsely reported caregivers’ qualifications.
The Attorney General’s Office said the conduct endangered residents under the agency’s care, many of whom used wheelchairs.
When the Pennsylvania Department of Health audited Superior Health, Bell falsified records to conceal staffing shortages, missing mandatory training and failures to conduct required employee health screenings, according to prosecutors.
She also created false medical and financial documentation to support fraudulent claims for payment, the Attorney General’s Office said.
“This defendant was determined in her efforts to defraud Medicaid, first by knowingly filing false reports, then by falsifying records when she knew she was being audited and investigated,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said.
Bell also lost her nursing license as a result of the case, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Deputy Attorney General Samuel Zappala and Attorney-in-Charge Kee Song of the Medicaid Fraud Control Section prosecuted the case.
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