The DOJ announced that a Wisconsin federal jury has indicted Lakia Jackson, former owner of We Care Services, for her role in an alleged health care fraud and kickback scheme related to prenatal and childcare services provided to low-income women.
According to DOJ, Jackson owned We Care Services between June 2020 and December 2021. We Care Services was a Prenatal Care Coordination (“PNCC”) agency that provided both prenatal and childcare services to low-income pregnant women and new mothers. PNCC agencies are supposed to provide services to at-risk populations to address the high rate of infant mortality in Wisconsin amongst low-income and at-risk women. In turn, Medicaid reimburses the agencies for, amongst other things, providing psychosocial support, nutrition education, and matching this population with community services that will benefit overall birth and parenting outcomes.
According to the indictment, Jackson allegedly provided kickbacks, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statue, to induce low-income women to sign-up for services offered by We Care Services. And although Jackson submitted millions of dollars’ worth of claims to the government, the PNCC services were never provided to the agency’s clients. The indictment further alleged that Jackson submitted claims for reimbursement prior to even meeting the women alleged to have received services provided by We Care Services. Jackson has been charged with multiple counts of Health Care Fraud and False Statements Relating to Health Care Matters, violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, Money Laundering, and Aggravated Identity Theft. If convicted of all charges Jackson faces more than 35 years in prison.
The attorneys at Chilivis Grubman represent clients of all types and sizes in connection to health care fraud investigations and litigation. If you need assistance with such a matter, please contact us today.