July 9, 2010
Media Contact: Jenn Meale
Phone: (850) 245-0150
St. Lucie County In-Home Care Provider Arrested for Medicaid Fraud, Grand Theft
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced the arrest of a St. Lucie County man for his role in the theft of over $31,000 from the Florida Medicaid program. Eric West, 42, was arrested today by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office based on a warrant from the Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The investigation was conducted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit acting on information received from a Medicaid Waiver Support Coordinator. The investigation revealed that West fraudulently billed for in-home care services on behalf of Medicaid recipients. Authorities allege that he submitted numerous reimbursement claims to the Medicaid program for services that he never provided to Medicaid recipients. Employment records from The ARC of Florida, a non-profit organization in St. Lucie County where West was employed, showed that he was present at the ARC office during the times he claimed to have provided services to at-home Medicaid recipients in their homes. Additionally, interviews with the parents of Medicaid recipients revealed that West did not provide the services for which reimbursements were requested.
West is being held at the St. Lucie County Jail and is charged with one count of grand theft and one count of Medicaid fraud, both third-degree felonies. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the 19th Judicial Circuit.