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Brighton Rehab and Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, along with the following people were indicted on 15 counts, US Attorney Cindy Chung and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced on Tuesday, August 9:
- Sam Halper, 39, of Miami Beach, Florida.
- Eva Hamilton, 35, of Beaver.
- Susan Gilbert, 61, of Lawrence.
- Michelle Romeo, 46, of Hillsville.
- Johnna Haller, 41, of Monaca.
The Indictment alleges two schemes: first, that management-level employees at the two nursing facilities, "knowingly provided, or directed others to provide, falsified staffing records to the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) during federally mandated surveys;" and second, "that the facilities, under the direction of Halper and two other regional directors, Michelle Romeo and Johnna Haller, made false statements in resident assessments, also called Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments, provided to the government to increase Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements," as stated in the release.
“Health care fraud, particularly fraud that impacts elderly patients, is not a victimless crime,” Chung said. “It affects everyone. Individuals and businesses alike, and causes tens of billions of losses every year.”
The FBI, Health and Human Services, and the IRS were also involved in the investigation, according to the release.
If found guilty on all of the counts the charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison, and a fine of $500,000, not considering the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants, authorities explain.
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