Muskegon County caregiver accused of submitting false Medicaid claims

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced May 17, 2024 a Montague caregiver is facing up to four years in prison for alleged Medicaid fraud. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP, File)

By Rose White

LANSING, MI - A Montague woman is facing prison time after she allegedly lied about providing in-home care to collect Medicaid dollars.

Julia Bland, 28, was arraigned at Ingham County’s 54-B District Court Friday, May 17 on one count of Medicaid fraud, a four-year felony, according to a news release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Bland, who was employed by GT Independence to provide in-home services for a Medicaid recipient, is accused of submitting false claims between Feb. 23 and July 13, 2023. These claims were then paid by the Medicaid program.

Investigators found Bland used a smartphone app to report the dates and hours she provided services, according to the attorney general’s office. But the app’s GPS location data shows Bland allegedly submitted claims for services when she was not in the area of the Medicaid beneficiary’s home.

Ingham County Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt issued Bland a $50,000 bond.

“Providing Medicaid-funded in-home care is critical to keeping vulnerable people in their own homes as long as possible,” said Nessel. “Caregivers who use the program to commit fraud will be held accountable.”

The Michigan Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division, a state and federally funded program, investigated this case. About 75% of the division’s funding comes from a $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining 25% totaling $1.8 million is funded by the state.

Bland will next appear in court for a probable cause conference on May 31.

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Muskegon County caregiver accused of submitting false Medicaid claims