Former SW Minnesota care agency operator sentenced to nearly 8 years for cheating Medicaid out of $1.8M

A former home-care nursing agency operator in southwestern Minnesota was sentenced to nearly eight years for cheating Medicaid out of more than $1.8 million by submitting several thousand false claims over three years.

Remona L. Brown, 55, was sentenced last week after jurors convicted her in May on several counts of aiding and abetting fraud in connection with the scheme that centered on the now defunct Caring & Compassionate Healthcare Agency in Worthington.

Brown, of Lansing, Mich., will serve the first five years in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Her sentence calls for her to make full restitution for the $1,860,155.57 that she was convicted of stealing.

Nearly 6,000 fraudulent claims were submitted to the government agency from 2012 to 2015, according to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, which prosecuted the case.

Much of the money from the fraudulent billing was deposited in bank accounts in Michigan controlled by Brown's family members, who sent some of the proceeds back to Brown, the office said. The agency also had a location in Michigan.

According to the Attorney General's Office, the agency billed for registered nurse and licensed practical nurse services when the services were provided by less costly personal care assistants, medical assistants and certified nursing assistants. The agency also billed for services that weren't provided.

Separately, Brown was charged in Michigan in connection with a plot to distribute illegitimate opioid prescriptions.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482