The owners of a south suburban youth counseling center were indicted on federal charges that they defrauded about $4 million from Illinois’ Medicaid program.
The indictment, returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court, accuses Laynie Foundation Inc. co-owners Summer Matheson and Terrence Ewing and employee Richard Grundy of health care fraud, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Prosecutors said the trio billed Medicaid for more mental health counseling services than the Matteson-based foundation provided from 2011 to 2018. They also allegedly sought Medicaid payments for activities that aren’t reimbursable, including internal case reviews, staff training, clinical supervision and record keeping.
Matheson is also accused of ordering foundation staff to backdate and falsify patient records to make it look like a licensed professional reviewed and approved certain services in an attempt to cover up the fraud, prosecutors said.
Matheson, 41, and Ewing, 57, who both live in Dyer, Indiana, are each charged with six counts of health care fraud, prosecutors said. Grundy, 34, of Chicago, is charged with five counts of health care fraud. Matheson is also facing one count of obstruction of justice.
The state and federal governments filed a civil lawsuit against Matheson and Ewing in 2017, claiming they and the Laynie Foundation violated the federal False Claims Act by overbilling Medicaid. The suit is still pending in federal court.
