A Massachusetts home health operator was sentenced to up to three years in prison and ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution in a home health fraud case, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO).
 
Felix Mercedes, 35, of Worcester, pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme involving the stealing of personal information from disabled, elderly and unhoused individuals to bill for false home health services in the Worcester area, prosecutors noted in a Sept. 15 news release.
 
The AGO alleged that since at least 2019, Mercedes targeted vulnerable community members in the Worcester area, including homeless, elderly and disabled individuals, and would often invite victims to stay in his home. Mercedes then fraudulently used their personal information to sign them up for Medicaid services, often without their knowledge or consent. Mercedes and his co-conspirators would bill the services to MassHealth, despite the services never being provided.