Hubbard nursing home employee accused of forging resident's checks

HUBBARD, Ohio - An employee of a Hubbard nursing home faces fifteen criminal charges for allegedly stealing hundreds of dollars from an 89-year-old resident of that facility.

Ashley N. Dawson of Boardman was arraigned Tuesday in Girard Municipal court on one count of burglary, seven counts of forgery and seven counts of theft by deception.

According to a police report, Hubbard City police were called last month by the administrator of Elmwood Assisted Living who believed one of the residents may be the victim of a theft.

Detectives were told that five checks belonging to the elderly resident had been taken and cashed.

Police say the total amount of the suspected forged checks amounted to $2,900 dollars.

Investigators compared the signatures on the checks to the signature on a birthday card given to the victim by Dawson.

The judge set a $12,500 bond for Dawson, but placed her on house arrest until her next hearing on April 13.

Full Article & Source:
Hubbard nursing home employee accused of forging resident's checks

Philadelphia district attorney pleads not guilty to bribery, corruption charges

Seth Williams

Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal bribery and corruption charges and signed a $50,000 bond, according to various reports.

He also handed over his passport, according to reports.

His plea comes a day after his indictment by a federal grand jury on charges related to what officials described as a five-year corruption spree that included accepting tens of thousands of dollars in concealed bribes, a trip to the Dominican Republic and a 1997 Jaguar.

The charges against Williams, 50, a Democrat, also included confiscating $20,000 money intended for a relative's nursing home care and using the funds to pay for his mortgate and electricity, according to official documents and the Philadelphia Inquirer. The news organization identified the relative as Williams' mother, Imelda Williams.

Williams' lawyer, Michael Diamondstein, spoke to reporters outside of court Wednesday and urged the public not to rush to judgment about his client.

"Seth Williams categorically denies ... that he's guilty of any crime," Diamondstein said. "This indictment is 24-hours old and yet too many politicians and commentators have already tried and convicted Seth Williams in the media. Simply because the government makes explosive allegations in a complaint doesn’t mean they’re going to be proven in a court of law."

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who expressed disappointment over the developments, asked Williams to resign, the mayor's office confirmed Wednesday night.

The evidence surfaced in part via text messages in which Williams offers himself up to two business owners for assistance.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recused his office from the investigation.

The formal charges announced Tuesday by acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who is overseeing the case, include bribery, extortion, honest services wire fraud, and also defrauding a nursing home and family friends by taking the funds earmarked for the relative's nursing home fees. Honest services fraud is when a public official denies someone his or her intangible right to honest services.

"The indictment alleges that as District Attorney, Mr. Williams compromised himself and his elected office by standing ready to help those who were willing to pay him with money, trips and cars," Fitzpatrick said in a statement. "Mr. Williams' alleged willingness to compromise his position of public trust in exchange for private financial gain is all the more unfortunate given that he was elected to protect the interests of the people of Philadelphia as their chief law enforcement officer."

Williams' office requested privacy on the matter.

"The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office does not have any comment at this time," the office said in an e-mail to USA TODAY. "The DA is not in the office today because he is spending time with his family. I ask that you respect his privacy and the privacy of the men and women of the office so all of us can continue to do our jobs without the distraction of additional media attention."

Williams' lawyer, identified by the Inquirer as Michael Diamondstein, told the news organization his client would fight the charges. Sources told the Inquirer that Williams rejected a plea deal earlier this week.

"Mr. Williams vehemently denies that he ever compromised any investigation, case, or law enforcement function," Diamondstein told the Inquirer.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster in a statement called the alleged misconduct "brazen and wide-ranging."

Kenney, the mayor, condemned the alleged behavior.

"It is deeply shameful that the city’s chief law enforcement officer has been implicated in such a flagrant violation of the law," Kenney said in a statement. "At a time when our citizens’ trust in government is at an all-time low, it is disheartening to see yet another elected official give the public a reason not to trust us. That this comes at the head of our justice system is even more troubling. We must all greatly raise the bar for our behavior and show the citizens of Philadelphia that we are capable of carrying out our most basic responsibilities as elected officials, upholding the law.”

The indictment comes during a period of alleged corruption and misspending in Philadelphia. The city controller has charged that a former aide to former Mayor Michael Nutter used a non-profit that operated under the mayor as a "slush fund" for the mayor's office. In December, former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat from Philadelphia, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal racketeering and bribery charges.

Williams took office in 2010, with much hoopla made over the fact that he was the first black district attorney in Philadelphia and the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In his younger years, he showed much promise. At Penn State, he was president of the Undergraduate Student Government and the Student Black Caucus. He graduated from Georgetown University's law school as a Public Interest Law Scholar.

As an assistant district attorney for a decade with the city of Philadelphia, he launched and led a Repeat Offenders Unit. He was elected district attorney in 2009, attracting more then 75% of the vote. In 2011, his office brought charges against an abortionist who allegedly killed infants who survived the procedure and the abortionist was convicted and sentenced to life.

But things turned for Williams. In 2015, he was criticized for not going after prosecutors who were found to be sharing pornographic and racially derogatory e-mails on government computers. Last year, his a woman identified in the Philadelphia media as his girlfriend turned was sentenced to probation for slashing his tires in 2015. In January, Philadelphia's Board of Ethics fined him $62,000 for failing to disclose $160,000 in gifts. And last month, he announced he would not seek a third term as district attorney because he had "cast an unnecessary shadow" over his office.

The alleged misconduct cited in Tuesday's indictment took place from 2010 to 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Williams also attempted to conceal the bribes and gifts by filing misleading personal financial statements from 2012 through 2015, the Department of Justice said.

With one of the business owners, Williams accepted a vacation to the Dominican Republic, a custom sofa, a $502 dinner at a Philadelphia restaurant, a $7,000 check, $2,000 in cash, an iPad, Burberry watch and a Burberry purse for his girlfriend, according to the indictment. In return, the district attorney agreed to help the business owner with security screenings when he returned from foreign travel, and asked a police official to help the business owner avoid a screening.

Williams also agreed to help with an associate of the business owner with criminal charges. The business owner texted Williams that the associate would "take any punishment" but "just doesn't wanna do jail," according to the indictment. Williams responded, "I will look into it." Williams then asked about a second future trip to the Dominican Republic to be paid for by the business owner and texted, "I am merely a thankful beggar and don't want to overstep my bounds in asking ... but we will gladly go."

With another business owner, the owner of a bar, Williams accepted 16 round-trip airline tickets to Florida, San Diego, Calif., and Las Vegas for himself, his girlfriend and family members, the indictment alleges. He also asked for and accepted a 1997 Jaguar XK8 and at least $900 in cash, according to the indictment.

In exchange, Williams appointed the bar owner as a special advisor to his office, even though the bar owner was on federal probation resulting from a 2010 federal tax conviction, the indictment said.

Williams also sent a letter to California officials attempting to influence a hearing to revoke or suspend the bar owner's California liquor license.

Williams sent texts to the bar owner that read, "I wish I could help more," "Can I be a celebrity greeter or celebrity bartender to work off my debt ... ?" and "I was serious about just doing whatever I can to help you guys," according to the indictment.

Regarding the nursing home funds, the indictment alleges that Williams diverted pension and Social Security payments intended for one of his family members to pay for his own personal expenses. The funds were to pay for the relative's nursing home costs and Williams was under an agreement with the nursing home to make the payments. Williams also lied and told a nursing home employee that his family member spent the money, according to the indictment. In addition, Williams accepted $10,000 from friends of his relative to cover nursing home expenses and spent the money on himself, the indictment alleges.

The relative was Williams' mother and he used the funds to pay his mortgage and electricity bills, according to the Inquirer.

Williams is expected to surrender and be arraigned Wednesday afternoon, the Inquirer reported.

Also working on the case are the FBI, IRS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Two prosecutors from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania will work on the case under the supervision of prosecutors from New Jersey.

Full Article & Source:
Philadelphia district attorney pleads not guilty to bribery, corruption charges

West Virginia Financial Exploitation Task Force Fights Back Against Elder Financial Abuse

The victim “was left in a nursing home, recovering and wanting to go home,” said Taylor, an attorney at Legal Aid of West Virginia. Another family member was dispatched to the victim’s home to ready it for her return, only to find the locks had been changed and the house emptied.

By the time authorities caught up with the woman’s granddaughter, the victim’s nest egg was much smaller. Though they were able to recoup the stolen stocks, bonds and other valuables, a lot of the victim’s money had already been spent.

“It’s a very big issue,” said Taylor, who also maintains her own solo practice. “Nationwide, financial exploitation is the fastest-growing silent crime in the country. It costs consumers across the country over $5 billion per year.”

The National Adult Protective Association says elder financial exploitation is a fast-growing form of abuse targeting seniors and adults with disabilities. Most often, it’s a trusted family member or caretaker who diverts the victim’s assets to their own use.

“You’d be amazed at the people who put mom in a nursing facility and then take the money and run,” Taylor said. “That’s how it first came to my attention: People were placing their parents, their siblings and even their kids in nursing homes and not paying their bills. Then, when you dig into it, you find out they’re living off mom’s Social Security and pension, using it to pay their own bills (instead of) paying for mom’s care.”

The West Virginia Financial Exploitation Task Force characterizes exploiters as criminals, “but sadly they are also often friends, family members or others that victims thought they could trust.” If the victim gives the person power of attorney rights, “the exploiter has legal access to the funds as the resident’s agent, but has a duty to use the money for the victim’s benefit.”

“A power of attorney is not a license to steal,” said Suzanne Messenger, ombudsman for the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services and Acting Chair of the task force. “The power-of-attorney representative sometimes forgets the person that gave them that power of attorney didn’t evaporate the moment they signed it.

Full Article and Source:
Task Force Fights Back Against Elder Financial Abuse

88-year-old Indiana man makes blankets for police to give to children

Clayton & Delores Shelburne
Click to Watch Video

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. - It started off as a hobby his wife enjoyed, and now Clayton Shelburne is making blankets on his own after her death.

The 88-year-old Indiana man has already made several dozen blankets, supplying enough for one to go with every patrol car with the Zionsville Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff's Office.

"I just felt there was a need," Shelburne told WXIN.  He said he remembered one story about a father leaving his sleeping son in a broken-down vehicle along a highway while the father went to get help.

Police said the blankets would go a long way.

“We could show up to a crash and the weather could be like it is now where it’s nice and cold and that blanket will come in real handy when you wrap it around somebody in need," said Sgt. Adrian Martin of the Zionsville Police Department.

Shelburne said his wife first started making blankets with a camping club, which would donate the blankets to different organizations in the area. Clayton joined in and the couple made blankets together for about ten years.

"She was the seamstress," he said. "I was never a seamstress. This is a new ballgame because I was always an outside person.”

Clayton's wife, Delores, died in May of 2015.

"My time is nothing," said Shelburne. "I’m 88 years old, I can do this when it’s raining outside and I enjoy doing it. I’m sure if my wife was here she would be happy I’m doing this too.”

Shelburne decided to help police in his county after talking with his son, who is an officer in Zionsville.

"For an individual, a civilian for that matter, to take it upon themselves to not only take their time and invest their money and their personal stake into a product or event that benefits any law enforcement agency, particularly Zionsville, we appreciate that,” Martin said.

Shelburne plans to make more when police run out and is already making new batches for the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. He already has a dozen ready to go.

“I may have bitten off more than I can chew," said a laughing Shelburne. "I’m going to keep doing it as long as I got some money to make blankets, and I’m sure there’s a need for it over there.”

Shelburne said he spends very little of his own money making the blankets. Most of the funds come from friends, family and others who hear about his work and want to contribute.

Full Article & Source:
88-year-old Indiana man makes blankets for police to give to children

Clever Mom Invents Special Shopping Cart That Helps Special Needs Kids - and the Elderly too!

As the world becomes increasingly aware of the needs of the young, sick, and elderly, people are beginning to find new and innovative ways to help them and their caretakers. Drew Ann Long was one such mother who decided to get crafty when she was having difficulty maneuvering her wheelchair-dependent daughter while trying to keep track of her two-year-old son during their frequent shopping trips.

She decided to start Caroline’s Cart, a company, named after her daughter, that specializes in a unique type of shopping cart that incorporates an adult-sized seat within the cart itself. The product quickly began to spread across the country in many major outlets like Food Lion, Giant, Kroger, Target, and Walmart, among others.

The goal for Long began simply with the desire to incorporate her daughter into her regular activities, but it’s quickly caught on with many senior citizens and wheelchair/scooter dependent people that want to be active in their day with their family and/or caretakers.

Full Article and Source:
Clever Mom Invents Special Shopping Cart That Helps Special Needs Kids

Casey Moreland's law license suspended

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Casey Moreland has now been banned from practicing law.

The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Moreland’s law license on Wednesday.

The decision was made “upon finding that Mr. Moreland poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.”

An extensive Channel 4 I-Team investigation exposed how Moreland was doing legal favors for women who claim to have had sexual relations with him.

Moreland was charged with federal crimes last week, including obstruction of justice.

Full Article & Source:
Casey Moreland's law license suspended

Undercover Recordings At Center Of Moreland Case

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Undercover FBI video and audio recordings shed light on the charges against Davidson County General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland.

Federal prosecutors played the recordings in Moreland's preliminary hearing on Friday.

He is charged with obstruction of justice through bribery and witness tampering.

The recordings show Moreland talking about planting drugs on his former mistress and reveal his efforts to pay her in exchange for signing an affidavit recanting parts of her story.

Moreland had no idea the man he was meeting in his home on March 16 was helping the FBI.

The man had a video camera and told Moreland about a fictitious discussion he had with a police officer who offered to plant drugs on Moreland's former mistress, Natalie Amos.

Moreland asked, "What does he want?"

The informant responded, "I don't know if he wants anything. He just... I think his thing is as long as it don't come back to him. And I said "Don't worry about that.'"

Moreland asked, "Is he going to be the one to pull her over?"

The informant responded, "He'll be the one to pull her over. But he's just, his main thing is that it don't come back to me."

Judge Moreland then asked if the officer had a drug dog.

He also wanted to know where the officer worked.

"Who does he work for?" Moreland asked.

"He does something for the DEA and he works part time for another agency," the informant said.

Prosecutors emphasized there was never an officer who was going to plant drugs.

Toward the end of their meeting, Moreland asked the informant if he still had Amos' license plate number which Moreland had given him earlier.

The informant said, "I got it written down where nobody could see it. So yeah, I still got the tag number. So I got that."

Moreland said, "You ought to be able to find her with that."

The phone calls deal with Moreland trying to get Amos to sign an affidavit.

Through the same informant, Moreland offered her money if she would sign.

But the FBI pretended that Amos wanted to keep marking out parts of the affidavit.

"Tell her I have to have that," Moreland said on the phone.

The informant responded, "You gotta have that there was no sex in the office?"

"Right," Moreland answered.

Prosecutors say Moreland wound up paying $6,100 in exchange for Natalie Amos signing the affidavit.

They found the affidavit with Amos' fake signature in the possession of Moreland's attorney, Worrick Robinson.

"I can't talk about the affidavit or anything surrounding the affidavit other than what was discussed today in open court," Robinson said after court Friday.

Moreland's other attorney, Peter Strianse, indicated the plan was to leak the affidavit to the media.

He claimed leaking a document to the media would not be obstruction of justice, which is a federal crime.

He said it may just be an example of poor judgment.

Full Article & Source:
Undercover Recordings At Center Of Moreland Case

Nashville judge faces federal criminal charges

NASHVILLE — The federal government on Tuesday filed criminal charges against a Tennessee judge, alleging he tried to bribe a woman to recant her allegations against him.

General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland, 59, was charged with attempting to obstruct justice through bribery and witness tampering, Acting U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee Jack Smith announced. Moreland was taken into custody Tuesday morning and appeared in court Tuesday afternoon.

The chains around Moreland's ankles, clanking on a tile floor, could be heard even before he was led into the courtroom. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Brown read the possible penalties Moreland is facing, including a maximum 20-year prison term.

"Do you understand what you're charged with and the possible punishment?" Brown asked.

"Yes sir," Moreland replied, seated in a button-down and khakis next to his lawyer, Peter Strianse of Nashville. Asked for comment as he was leaving the courtroom, Moreland did not respond.

Moreland will next appear in court Friday afternoon for a hearing to determine if he will remain in custody pending trial.

Moreland, a judge since 1998, was the subject of an FBI investigation related to allegations that he helped people he knew in exchange for things — including sexual favors, travel and lodging. Among the allegations documented in police reports and accounts were that he intervened in a traffic stop for a woman he had a personal relationship with and waived jail time for his future son-in-law.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Moreland tried to pay a woman thousands of dollars to recant her allegations against him. That occurred after March 1, more than one month after the FBI began an inquiry.

"The allegations set forth in the indictment set forth egregious abuses of power by a judge sitting here in Nashville," Smith said in a statement.

A criminal complaint based on an affidavit of FBI Special Agent Mark Shafer lays out the investigation, which used confidential sources who are unnamed in the complaint.

Photo of money used in a bribery attempt by Judge Casey Moreland, according to federal officials (Photo: Shelley Mays / USA Today Network - Tennesseee) 
 

A man, who initially lied to FBI agents about his role, later said he had schemed with Moreland.

According to the affidavit, that man said the judge was concerned their calls were being monitored, so he purchased for the judge a “burner phone,” a temporary cellphone that is often associated with criminal activity.

On March 11, while the confidential source was working for the FBI, he met with Moreland. In that meeting, the man told the judge he had met with a woman making public allegations against Moreland and that she would sign an affidavit saying she had lied.

The meeting was recorded, according to the FBI, and during it Moreland handed over the draft affidavit, $5,100 cash and an explanation.

“This right here gets me out of trouble,” Moreland said, according to the FBI documents. Federal officials say Moreland instructed the man to get the woman "liquored up real good" before asking her to sign the affidavit.

After being told the woman wanted to make changes to it, Moreland handed over another $1,000 to sign it as-is, federal officials said.

Moreland also discussed a plan to have drugs planted on the woman, and then discovered by police during a traffic stop he would orchestrate, according to the complaint. Federal officials said the goal was to destroy the woman's credibility.

Also Tuesday, as the charges were being announced, Metro Councilman Jeremy Elrod filed a resolution calling for Moreland's resignation. And Mayor Megan Barry said resigning would "seem to be in the best interest" of residents who depend on the integrity of the courts.

"Nashville deserves to have absolute trust in our judiciary, and Casey Moreland, based upon the allegations in the federal complaint, seems to have clearly violated that trust," Barry said in a statement.

Moreland is one of 11 General Sessions judges in Nashville. Each earns $170,000.

Full Article & Source:
Nashville judge faces federal criminal charges

FBI: Texas Hospice Boss Texted Nurses Execution Orders for Patients

by Michael Daly

The founder and CEO of a hospice services company instructed nurses to administer fatal overdoses to patients who had ‘been on the hospice service for too long,’ the FBI alleges.

Photo Illustration by Brigette Sueprnova/The Daily Beast

As the FBI tells it, Brad Harris became a one-man private death panel as the owner and CEO of a Texas hospice.

“You need to make this patient go bye-bye,” Harris texted one his nurses at Novus Health Care Services, as recounted in an FBI search warrant affidavit.

The Feb. 5 affidavit, first reported by NBC 5 in Dallas, further alleges that 34-year-old Harris said of another patient, “If this f**k would just die.”

On at least four occasions, the affidavit says, Harris instructed nurses to administer overdoses to patients who had “been on the hospice service for too long.”

In one instance, Harris allegedly texted a nurse to dispatch a lingerer “by increasing the patient’s medication dosage to approximately four times the maximum allowed.”

The motive for the big hurry, the affidavit says, was money. Hospice care is no longer the province of nuns and other noble religious volunteers. It is now a multibillion-dollar industry where companies compete for patients who translate into taxpayer bucks.

To control the greed and the accompanying costs, the federal government imposes an annual “aggregate” cap for hospice care of $27,820.75 per Medicaid/Medicare patient.

But a hospice might bill much more than that for a lingering patient while counting on billing less for somebody who comes in and quickly expires. The FBI reports that Harris spoke of wanting to “find patients who would die within 24 hours.”

The problem business-wise comes if too many patients hang on for too long. The hospice exceeds the cap.

Then comes a greedster’s nightmare. The hospice is required to pay back whatever it has billed over the limit.

And Harris is not in it as even a moderately dedicated doctor might be. He is an accountant in a health-care industry whose principles are less Hippocratic than hypocritical.

Novus says on its website that its name is “Latin for ‘New,’ ‘Extraordinary,’ ‘Innovative,’” and describes itself as “a state of the art healthcare company.”

“Our company name and mantra of ‘Focus on Living’ accurately symbolizes the company’s goal—to ‘redefine hospice and palliative care,’” the site says.

The FBI alleges that Harris’s mantra was to Focus on Profiting and that he redefined hospice and palliative care by texting execution orders to nurses.

“As part of this scheme, Harris, who has no medical training or licenses, would direct his employed nurses to overdose hospice patients with palliative medications such as morphine to hasten death, and thereby minimize Novus’ [exposure] under the cap,” the affidavit says.

According to the FBI, one nurse refused to carry out a death order and resigned. The ultimate result of the three other instances is not clear, and there certainly could be others.

If anybody did die, that would seem to justify a homicide charge. The orders themselves would appear to constitute attempted murder at the very least, whatever the outcome.

As Ron Panzer of the private watchdog group Hospice Patients Alliance noted on Wednesday, “You have the intent to kill, which is murder.”

While texting death orders may be unique in health care, Panzer believes that such hospice killings by overdose are not as unusual as the public imagines. He can think of no prosecutions.

“In a hospice, they say, ‘Well, it’s an expected death,’” Panzer said.

But robbing somebody of life near its end is still killing. Even a few added hours can be time for a loving declaration or a tender reconciliation. A few extra minutes can give a family time to say farewell.

After the FBI affidavit concerning Novus was reported on NBC 5 and then the Dallas Morning News, a Texas woman named Shannon Long posted a message on Facebook:

“This story is absolutely heartbreaking but I felt driven to share it because my family was affected by it. We used Novus Health Care Services Inc. for my grandmother’s hospice care back in February 2015. Within 20 minutes of the hospice nurse’s arrival, he had administered a drug that he said would ‘make her more comfortable.’ Seconds after administering, he told my mother that she ‘might want to contact immediate family members, because they usually go quick after this.’ Within the hour, my grandmother was in a medically induced coma. She passed less than two days later. I really can’t form the right words right now, but I’m praying for the other families that were affected by this and hope that those responsible are brought to justice.”

Long subsequently wrote, “I must add that our family is/was very aware of the role hospice plays, which is making the dying patient more comfortable during their ‘transition.’ However, this nurse administered these drugs before telling us that it would put her in a medically induced coma, immediately. He didn’t ask, he just told us the drugs would relax her, then he medicated her. Had he informed us of this BEFORE administering the drugs, we would have waited for our family to arrive, to say their goodbyes.”

She went on, “At the time, my mother and aunt were so exhausted emotionally. I don’t think anyone knew what to do, or how to react. All we could focus on was making her as comfortable as possible. Even at this point, sharing this post is the only thing I know to do.”

A family friend wrote, “Our mom is in memory care [long-term care for Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other memory troubles] now, that’s why this guy is so scary.”

Novus was not making any comment on Wednesday, and Harris could not be reached. He has yet to be charged with any crimes. But the once booming company he founded in 2012 has been on a steep decline since Sept. 17, 2015, when the FBI first showed up at Novus headquarters in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, taking away 18 DVDs of emails.

“[Novus] shot up like a rocket ship, then it crashed and burned,” said Pastor Rodney Sprayberry, until a week ago the chaplain there.

“Except for the guy at the top, it was an incredible company.”

Sprayberry told The Daily Beast, “I never saw anything illegal or immoral” at Novus, but he allowed, “there were whispers and rumors about what might be occurring.”

He said nurses “found it very difficult to work with [Harris] because of the demands he made.”

Sprayberry noted, “Obviously hospice is an industry that is relatively competitive. In this area, very, very competitive.”

In the scramble, Novus allegedly brought in patients who did not actually merit hospice care. The FBI began investigating the company in October 2014 and determined that Harris himself designated which patients qualified, the judgment apparently less medical than monetary.

“He did this by having employees who were not doctors sign the certifications with the names of doctors also employed by Novus,” the affidavit says.

Of course, an accountant was not the best of prognosticators.

“If a patient was on hospice care for too long, Harris would direct the patient be moved back to home health, irrespective of whether the patient needed continued hospice care,” the affidavit says.

The patients he liked best when he was near the annual billing limit were the ones who died within 24 hours. Another patient on the roster added a quick $27,820.75 to the aggregate cap.

“Save my ass from the cap,” Harris is quoted as saying in the affidavit.

Novus had 277 patients in a mid-2014 census, which would have translated to a limit of $6,037,102.75. Anything over that—because billing for lingering patients was not balanced out by quick deaths—meant that Harris would have to give the government money he had figured on keeping as profit.

The FBI alleges that Harris sometimes solved the problem simply by directing the nurse to administer a fatal overdose.

If one of those patients died, then what started as a fraud investigation for the Inspector General’s office at the Department of Health and Human Services could conceivably become a homicide case like none other.

The question would be whether it is murder to kill somebody who was likely about to die anyway.

The answer would seem to be that life is life and that the final moments before the end can be precious beyond the measure of a clock or calendar.

If Harris is ever proven to be a murderer, Texas has a death penalty. And executions there are carried out with exactly what he allegedly texted his nurses to administer: a lethal injection.

Full Article & Source:
FBI: Texas Hospice Boss Texted Nurses Execution Orders for Patients