Litigation Support

There are so many among us who depend on social services to monitor their well-being. But when one of those services routinely forges evidence of having made home visits before regular audits, it may be time to scrutunize an entire industry.

Danieal Kelly had cerebral palsy and used a wheelchair. She died a slow and tortuous death of starvation in 2006 and her mother pleaded guilty last week to criminal neglect of the once outgoing and happy teenager.

On May 1st, prosecutors filed charges against MultiEthnic Behavorial Services, which had a $1 million annual contract to provide Philadelphia with in-home services to needy families.

According to the prosecutors, MultiEthnic figured out an easier way to make money. They simply made "ghost" visits to the needy families and forged reports of their visits. The firm is now defunct and four of its founders, along with four social workers, have been charged in connection with Danieal's death. Press reports indicate that mass spoliation also took place in the panic that followed Danieal's death.

Reportedly, the Philadelphia Department of Human services had been warned about the "ghost" visits, but continued, year after year, to award the contract. The company had been founded solely to bid on this contract, and press reports indicate that at least one of the founders had a criminal record. The company took in $3.7 million from 2003-2006.

I suspect there are many companies who have learned to "game" the system and that the fabrication of electronic evidence in this area is rife. Those involved in policing the healthcare industry may well want to take a look at randomly using computer forensics, without prior warning, as part of their auditing process.

How many of the helpless among us are pawns in criminal schemes to get rich?

E-mail: snelson@senseient.com       Phone: 703-359-0700

www.senseient.com

http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq