Faith Newton, 56, of Westford, Mass., was also ordered to pay more than $99.7 million in restitution and was fined $250,000, according to a Jan. 23 Justice Department news release.
Ms. Newton was found guilty in July of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, one count of healthcare fraud, and three counts of money laundering. The jury found her not guilty on one count of money laundering conspiracy.
From 2013 to 2017, Ms. Newton was the part owner and operator of Arbor Homecare Services. The Justice Department said that Arbor, through Ms. Newton 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.
Arbor paid kickbacks for patient referrals, regardless of medical necessity. The company also entered into sham employment relationships with patients’ family members to provide home health aide services that were not medically necessary and routinely billed MassHealth for fictitious visits that Ms. Newton knew did not occur.
Ms. Newton’s co-defendant, Winnie Waruru, pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme in September 2022. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled in her case.
