Barbour County woman sentenced after exploiting nursing home residents

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Barbour County woman was sentenced Friday in connection to exploiting more than a dozen nursing home residents.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Medicaid Fraud Control Unit announced Mary Jane Brown, of Belington, was sentenced on multiple felony counts in Randolph Circuit Court, including Medicaid fraud, financial exploitation and fraudulent schemes.

The unit determined that over a four-year period, Brown had financially exploited 13 patients at an Elkins nursing home, stealing more than $50,000. She also caused more than $40,000 in fraudulent claims to be submitted to the Medicaid program, resulting in a total loss of $97,264.59.

Brown was arrested in July 2014. She was sentenced to serve one year in jail on one count of financial exploitation and two consecutive terms of one-to-ten years in prison on a count of fraudulent schemes and a count of Medicaid fraud. The prison sentences were suspended in favor of seven years of probation, which will begin after Brown is released from jail. She will also have to restitution.

The Medicaid Fraud Unit also announced Friday an approval of a waiver allowing it to conduct data mining activities to detect Medicaid fraud. West Virginia is only one of 10 states to have such a waiver from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.

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Barbour County woman sentenced after exploiting nursing home residents

Grassley expresses concern about exploitation of nursing home residents

Senator Grassley

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley said Wednesday he is seeking response by the U.S. Justice Department on what he called a new and disturbing trend against the elderly – the exploitation of nursing home residents on social media.

“In several cases around the country, nursing home workers have been caught taking photos and videos of residents in vulnerable positions and posting them on social media outlets such as Snapchat,” Grassley said during his weekly chat with Iowa reporters. “The mocking posts are meant for the workers’ amusement, but the posts are degrading and horrifying. The residents are frail and incapable of fighting back against the abusive treatment.”

Since much of nursing home care is paid through Medicaid, a federal-state program, and since nursing home inspection is a similar makeup, these facilities must adhere to state and federal health and safety standards, Grassley said. He has asked the U.S. attorney general’s office on what the Justice Department is doing to stop this exploitation.

“The Justice Department is the nation’s top law enforcement agency,” he said, “and its involvement in fighting this newly emerging crime is critical to prevention, prosecution and holding perpetrators accountable.”

Grassley has also asked the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for an updated account of its work on elder abuse, including social media exploitation, in an effort to “stop this abuse of our seniors.”

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Grassley expresses concern about exploitation of nursing home residents