A Montague woman has been hauled into court over accusations of padding her pockets with Medicaid funds by filing fraudulent claims for in-home care services she never provided, state officials said Friday. Julia Bland, 28, stood before an Ingham County judge facing charges of Medicaid Fraud-False Claim, a serious offense that could lock her up for up to four years if convicted, as per Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.
The allegations stretch back to this February, all the way through mid-July, when investigators found out that Bland ostensibly logged her caregiving hours via a smartphone app, but there’s a hitch, that same app, which tracks the caregiver’s location, told a tale of deceit by revealing she wasn't at the patient's home when she claimed to be on the clock, and this comes according to a report by WZZM13.
AG Nessel didn't mince words when addressing the significance of the in-home care program, "Providing Medicaid-funded in-home care is critical to keeping vulnerable people in their own homes as long as possible," she was quoted by Michigan Department of Attorney General. Nessel vowed to reel in any fraudster exploiting the system, "Caregivers who use the program to commit fraud will be held accountable."
In the meantime, Bland's legal woes hang in the balance as she faces a $50,000 bond and a probable cause conference set for May 31 at 8:30 a.m., for now, tethered to the court calendar and the resolve of state prosecutors who, fueled by a mix of federal and state funds dedicated to sniffing out Medicaid fraud, show no signs of backing down.
