Kenyan-Born Nurse in Massachusetts Pleads Guilty in a $100 million Home Health Care Fraud Scheme
A Kenyan-born nurse in the U.S has pleaded guilty in connection with a $100 million (Sh12 billion) home health care fraud and kickback scheme.
Winnie Waruru of Lowell, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on September 8th, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
The 42-year-old Kenyan nurse pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; one count of health care fraud – aiding and abetting; one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks; two counts of making false statements; and one count of making a false statement in a health care matter.
U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. scheduled her sentencing for January 12th, 2023.
Waruru was arrested in February 2021 and charged along with her co-accused Faith Newton, who has denied the charges and is pending trial. She is set to appear in court for a motion hearing on October 3rd.
From January 2013 to January 2017, Newton was part owner and operator of Arbor Homecare Services LLC while Waruru was a Licensed Practical Nurse employed as a home health nurse at Arbor, according to the indictment.
The two are alleged to have engaged in a conspiracy to use Arbor to defraud MassHealth and Medicare of at least $100 million by committing health care fraud and paying kickbacks to induce referrals. Newton then allegedly laundered the ill-gotten gains.
“Specifically, it is alleged that Arbor, through Newton, Waruru and others, failed to train staff, billed for home health services that were never provided or were not medically necessary and billed for home health services that were not authorized,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in the press release.
Arbor, through Newton and others, developed employment relationships as a way to pay kickbacks for patient referrals, regardless of medical necessity requirements. They are also alleged to have entered sham employment relationships with patients’ family members to provide home health aide services that were not medically necessary and routinely billed for fictitious visits that did not occur.
“As alleged in the civil complaint, Newton either directly or through Arbor, targeted particularly vulnerable patients who were low-income, on disability and/or suffering from depression and/or addiction,” U.S. Attorney’s Office added.
Prosecutors say Waruru and Arbor billed MassHealth for Waruru’s skilled nursing visits, many of which she did not perform, were medically unnecessary, or were not approved by a physician.
Waruru, who faces up to 15 years in prison, was personally responsible for causing Arbor to bill MassHealth for over $1.2 million in skilled nursing visits, much of which was fraudulent. She also passed cash payments allegedly from Newton to two Arbor patients to retain those patients.
Comments
Winnie Waruru is the winner…
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Winnie Waruru is the winner of FEMME FATALE trophy of the month.Again at the risk of sounding like a broken record,I say, when mom and pope go to jail who will inculcate good morals to the children? Again, I say, Kenyan women have perfected criminal activities that used to be a preserve for men.What happened to the gentler, kinder, softer sex? Or was that just a facade?Are women just as evil as men when it comes to white color crimes? Seriously, woudn't you rather have mom stay home if mzee is jailed...?
This is what happens when you break the time honored,and proven traditions of male female relationships.I am talking about the feminists view that women can do what men can do,sometimes even better.And they need a man much like a fish needs a bicycle.These are the results of the apple cart being upset.Customs,and mores that held society in harmony are now days ridicules,and mocked
I am neither a misogynist nor an advocate for women staying home ,cooking,and "entertaining "men.This notion of equality is warped.
These primitive behavior of…
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These primitive behavior of fast money
& raw deals didn't turn out well for these greedy women.
Now they will return those millions in
lawyer fees, penalties & their time.
They should just give up any assets they are investing in at home since cash flow is now on hold.
Way back in 1979 when I…
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Way back in 1979 when I landed in the US as a foreign student, I clearly remember the Foreign Students' Advisor telling a group of us that in the US you can achieve most of your dreams as long as you do not commit crimes, mess with people's children and wives, and most all, do not harm pets. I am wondering whether anyone told Winnie Waruru the same things when she was attending vocational training for her LPN.
@ MakOnyango, in addition to…
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In reply to Way back in 1979 when I… by MakOnyango (not verified)
@ MakOnyango, in addition to what you have mentioned, we were told to avoid getting into credit card trap,like a plague.Greed,and lust for finer things of life, the easy way has landed alot of Kenyans in financial,legal,and relationship troubles.There is no short cut to success. The only surest way is hard work setting goals and dedication.Don't count on lottery.Even if you are not all that gifted, hard work will pay dividends.Not only that but when you see blue and red lights behind you, you dont sweat that much.
A thief is a thief! No mercy…
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A thief is a thief! No mercy, no time for thieves! Hard time in the slammer!
MakOnyango, that advice…
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MakOnyango, that advice which you were given in 1979 has been affected by inflation. Winnie got the lesser version of it. Let her serve time.
Kuna saitan inafuatanga wezi…
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Kuna saitan inafuatanga wezi. They won't stop at one dollar, nope, 10- nope, 50- nope, 100- nope, $100 million yeeeeessssss ndio unasikianga watu husema iba hadi ile siku utashikwa. Very unfortunate. That's the main business of Kenyans in US. Healthcare- nursing and owning/running nursing homes. Those who come across such reports along with za kina Chemirmir the serial killer and many others accused of physical abuse na wale wa kurape tu cucu! Prayers and deliverance needed ASAP.
We need to quit blaming…
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In reply to Kuna saitan inafuatanga wezi… by Nanya (not verified)
We need to quit blaming imaginary beings for our failings. This person is greedy. Had she gotten away with it, and fled to Kenya she would be called a tycoon and getting feature stories. The rot is in Kenyan society and blaming the spaghetti monster or its nemesis or antithesis wouldn't change the facts. Maybe it's time we take responsibility for who we are and what we've built.
This is a tip of the iceberg…
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This is a tip of the iceberg.
Anyone who has followed this trend knows that most of our brothers and sisters running these nursing homes do the same.
This was happening way before our brothers and sisters got into this business, but like in most cases, the market got saturated, everyone wanted in,the old guards sold their business, now the government is cracking its whip.
Remember our Nigerian brother in Texas got around 15 years, plus the wife got jail time and lost everything?
Easy come, easy go. Except in Kenya whereby we can bribe our way out.
Kenyans are so innocent - a…
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Kenyans are so innocent - a weakness exploited by Naijarians.
"hey, we have a CEO position. All you need is sign here and here and here".
GOTCHA!
When I proclaim that 99.67…
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When I proclaim that 99.67 percent of Kenyans are superficial thieves, am called unjustifiable names like know-know, know-nothing, know-nothing-know, or simply MjuAji. Then they ask for federal figures bra bra bra. If you are a Kenyan and you are not a registered thief, then you are just about to graduate from a community college with an associate in Thievery, doing some prerequisite like Math 101 and 102, with emphasis on algebra, a relevant tool in balancing risks. Its like thievery is in all of us, all of you and all of them. The habit of Kenyans to analyze a potential victim's ability and possibility of being scammed, defrauded or conned, makes Kenyans rare species only after Nigerians, or as possible candidates for the Guinness Book of Record. And the situation is so dire that your own father, mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt or friend can create imaginary projects to appear genuine. But the main problem is when they take their expertise to the land the free: America. Like Trump would say, Sad.
Please don’t throw stones at…
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Please don’t throw stones at this lady and you turn around and elect Ruto. If you standing up for integrity, don’t have double standards.
Japan’s Mjuaji, don’t…
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Japan’s Mjuaji, don’t generalize. We have some clean Kenyans still remaining, more than 0.1%
Newton and Waruru are…
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Newton and Waruru are plainly put, professional fraudsters. They stole so much money that they started peeing on their neighbours as well as their friends. There is a lot of money to be made in healthcare industry without defrauding everyone else. You have to be a committed fraudster to steal one hundred million dollars. Amazing!!!!!!! If we were back in Kenya they could have escaped the justice by bribing the judges but thank god for the USA. Justice is on the way. No mercy here.
She's just one of many…
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She's just one of many Kenyan nurses in USA that have committed health care fraud. She got what she deserved and so is many other Kenyans who have committed other types of fraud in USA. Some Kenyans on USA fail to understand you need to do whatever it takes to stay away from the justice system that means legally get your daily bread.
One hand some might call…
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One hand some might call this lady smart because she made all that money albeit fraudulently .Some will say she was stupid for flouting her wealth.She was driving a maserati,and had about 40 houses.Now ,granted nurses make good money,any rookie detective would tell you that what this lady had could not have been gotten from her salary alone.In this case she was stupid. Got greedy.And when you get greedy, your appetite gets the attention.
Interested
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Interested
Interested
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Interested
I have worked in health care…
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I have worked in health care in Massachusetts since I landed here in 95 I know some people involved in the fraud
They were laughing at us saying "u guys have been here long and u never started your own companies look how much am making blah blah"I have been a Medicare/medicaid reviewer for a company I worked for.... so I knew what they were upto and it was a matter of time before they got caught up.
Who is having the last laugh.
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