A federal jury returned a guilty verdict April 6 against a Louisiana hospice agency owner on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud.
Kristal Glover-Wing, 50, of Broussard, La., was the owner of Angel Care Hospice of Lafayette Parish. Through evidence presented at trial, jurors learned that from approximately 2009 through 2017, more than 24 patients were placed on hospice by Angel Care without meeting the criteria required by Medicare — none of them had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, according to a Department of Justice release.
Many of the patients themselves, who are still alive, testified that they never knew that they had been placed on hospice. The testimony revealed that while on hospice care, many of the patients were living normal lives and although most of them did have medical conditions, none had been diagnosed as being terminally ill, according to the DOJ.
The fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and reimbursed to Angel Care resulted in a loss of more than $1,5 million to Medicare.
Glover-Wing faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit health care fraud charge, up to 10 years in prison on the health care fraud charges, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.