In an ongoing Medicare fraud whistleblower lawsuit in Federal court, one defendant has made a bid for a new trial, stating she was never identified in court as one of the actual defendants.

Defendant Angela A. was convicted in her part in a scheme to bill the government for expensive care that wasn’t necessary or wasn’t actually given at all.

As a nurse at Passages Hospice, Angela allegedly altered medical records so the organization could illegally bill the government and thereby willingly participated in Medicare fraud.

At trial in March, Angela was convicted for her part in this Medicare fraud scheme. However, in May, she asked a judge for an acquittal claiming that the prosecution never actually asked witnesses to identify her during the trial.

She claims there was no proof that she was actually the person that the numerous witnesses were talking about.

In her motion, Angela said, “Because a witness says a name and states that the name made a statement or that the name was present at a location without identifying the person associated with the name or even describing the person does not provide a rational or reasonable basis for inferring or concluding that a particular person made the statement or was present.”

She has asked for a new trial for this whistleblower lawsuit.

Feds Fire Back in Response to Call for a New Medicare Fraud Trial

In response to Angela’s call for a new Medicare fraud trial, the government told the judge that there was more than enough evidence presented in court to properly identify Angela as the actual nurse that the witnesses spoke about.

The government stated, “Even though the government did not ask any witness to make an in-court identification of defendant, there was more than sufficient evidence presented during its case in chief for the jury to find that defendant was the [Angela] who worked at Passages Hospice and who participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare, especially since the issue was not contested throughout the government’s case in chief.”

In essence, the government claimed that just because the question was not asked directly does not mean Angela was not actually the same Angela that allegedly committed Medicare fraud. They point out that just by nature of other employees in court giving testimony, ones who had known Angela for a long time, was enough to provide proper identification for her.

The government opposed the idea that identity can only be established through direct, in-court testimony and stated that identification can “be inferred from all the facts and circumstances that are in evidence.”

During the trial, the prosecution noted, neither her counsel nor any witnesses objected to anyone referring to Angela as the same Angela that worked at Passages Hospice as a CNA director.

In the course of the trial when Angela and others were convicted of Medicare fraud, other nurses gave testimony that Angela pressured them to place patients into higher levels of care so that Medicare could be billed for the more expensive care.

Others who were convicted in the Medicare fraud trial include former co-owner, Seth G. and former nursing director Carmen V. The admitted to a scam charging the government an elevated $23 million for patient care over the course of four years.

All in all, the government estimates their total losses as a result of Passages Hospice at $9.5 million.

Others in this whistleblower lawsuit have also plead guilty to Medicare fraud including a former administrator and the head of marketing.

The Medicare Fraud Lawsuit is Case No. 1:14-cr-00033, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.