A registered nurse from Bridgeport, Connecticut, faces felony charges for allegedly bilking the Medicaid system by falsely claiming more than $390,000 for private-duty nursing services to two severely disabled Medicaid recipients in New Rochelle and Peekskill.
State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Monday announced the arrest and indictment of Collins Anyanwu-Mueller, 47, for falsely claiming Medicaid payments between August 2010 and January 2015. He was arraigned in Westchester County Court in White Plains on charges of second-degree grand larceny and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, both felonies.
The attorney general”™s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit alleged in court documents that Anyanwu-Mueller falsely claimed to have provided private-duty nursing to two disabled persons who required 24-hour care at their Westchester homes. Investigators found the nurse submitted medical claims for services on dates when the Medicaid recipients were in the hospital, when another nurse provided care, when Anyanwu-Mueller was vacationing in Europe and when he was caring for another patient.
For an extended period, according to the attorney general”™s office, Anyanwu-Mueller sent an unlicensed person to the Medicaid recipient”™s home but billed Medicaid as if he himself provided the care.
“When health care professionals steal public funds, they undermine an important system that connects thousands of New Yorkers with necessary medical services,” Schneiderman said in a press release.
If convicted of both felony charges, Anyanwu-Mueller could receive a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison.
County Judge Larry J. Schwartz set the nurse”™s bail at $75,000 and scheduled his next court appearance on July 11.
