Former Florida nursing home executives agreed to be “permanently excluded” from federally funded health programs in settling charges of a $2.75 million Medicaid fraud, according to a plea agreement signed June 5.
Defendants Maxcine Darville and her daughter, JoAnne Carter, withdrew their previous not guilty plea and entered a plea of no contest to grand theft charges, the settlement states. The deal included four years of felony probation and more than $100,000 in combined restitution.
Darville and Carter were arrested in January for allegedly spending Medicaid funds on personal expenses such as luxury cars, mortgage payments, maid service and utility bills, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a news release.
Prior to their arrest, the Attorney General’s Office had investigated the mother-daughter duo for allegations made between January 2006 and March 2012 that Medicaid payments to their nursing home management company, the Council on Aging of Florida, were used for personal expenses, the news release noted.
Two of the nursing homes they owned received the “lowest-possible one-star rating from state regulators” and another was put on a “watch list with a conditional license”, The Palm Beach Post reported. The plea deals still have to be approved by a judge, according to the newspaper.
