A business owner in St. Louis County, Camille S. Childress, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly defrauding the Missouri Medicaid system of over $3 million. She operated a company called Inspiring Angels LLC and is facing four counts of health care fraud, according to the United States Attorney’s Office. The scheme reportedly lasted more than a decade.
The indictment states that Childress, who had a criminal conviction in 2012 that should have prevented her from running a home health care company, concealed her ownership of the business. She allegedly submitted claims to Missouri Medicaid for services that were never provided, even during times when patients were hospitalized and could not receive home care. Additionally, there were often no timesheet records or consistent documentation to support the services she claimed were delivered, as reported by the United States Attorney’s Office.
Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, stated that “the alleged fraudulent enrollment and submission of false claims by this business owner to Medicaid undermines the integrity of the program and diverts essential resources from those who genuinely need assistance.” If convicted, Childress could face up to ten years in prison for each fraud charge and fines of up to $250,000. The investigation involved the HHS-OIG, the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman as the prosecutor, as stated by the United States Attorney’s Office.
