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TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced a Palm Beach County woman has been taken into custody on charges she was operating an assisted living facility without a license. Ermintude Mercy was arrested by law enforcement officers with the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

The arrest resulted from an investigation by the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit's Patient Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (PANE) team, acting on information received from the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Medicaid fraud investigators determined that Mercy, 54, was operating an assisted living facility in Loxahatchee without a license. AHCA issued the facility a notice of violation and informed Mercy she must cease and desist from offering services to residents, but she continued to operate anyway.

In order to legally and properly operate an assisted living facility, there are various administrative and operational requirements which must be met including: licensing procedures, staffing requirements, compliance with county health and local fire authority regulations, and the safe management of medication by trained staff personnel.

Mercy is charged with one count of operating and/or maintaining an assisted living facility without a license, a third-degree felony. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the 15th Judicial Circuit.

The PANE Project plays a key role in detecting abuse and neglect of elderly and disabled patients, helping to ensure that efficient and effective health care is being provided.