Illinois Attorney General issued the following announcement on Nov. 23.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that a Cook County physician and woman have been charged with defrauding the state out of more than $1.2 million in Medicaid funds.
Dr. William McMiller, 66, of Oak Park, Ill., and his niece, Jonise Williams, 36, of Matteson, Ill., were charged in Cook County Circuit Court with theft of government property by deception and theft of government property by unauthorized control, each a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison; vendor fraud, a Class 1 felony punishable by four to 20 years in prison; and forgery, a Class 3 felony punishable by two to five years in prison. McMiller and Williams also face a fine of up to $25,000 for each charge.
McMiller is a licensed physician who owns Dr. Bill’s Learning Center, which has two locations in Chicago and Oak Park. The centers offer tutoring services to children as well as clinical therapy and psychiatric services. Williams handled the billing at Dr. Bill’s Learning Centers, and together, Williams and McMiller submitted numerous claims to the Illinois Medicaid program for psychotherapy and medical services that were not provided.
“Our Medicaid program serves some of the state’s most vulnerable residents and children,” Raoul said. “I am committed to partnering with other agencies to take action against individuals who use the program to defraud the people of Illinois.”
The Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Unit opened an investigation after receiving a referral from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) Office of the Inspector General. The HFS Office of the Inspector General raised an allegation of fraud against McMiller based on that abnormal number of service hours that he billed each day.
“Our top priority — especially during this fight against COVID — is to use Medicaid funds to help people in our state access the quality healthcare they deserve,” said Theresa Eagleson, Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. “The OIG’s vigilance in referring potential fraud defends our dollars against abuse and enables HFS to continue empowering people and families to live healthier lives.”
“Illinois’ most vulnerable citizens lose out on critical health-care services when criminals take advantage of the state’s Medicaid system,” said Patrick Conlon, Acting Inspector General at the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. “We’ve been aggressive in our efforts to crack down on fraud, waste and abuse and will continue to work collaboratively with our Medicaid fraud partners to protect Medicaid recipients and Illinois taxpayers.”
“The Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates allegations like these every day to ensure that resources allotted to provide care to those who need it the most are not diverted to providers who try to game the system for financial gain,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly.
The public is reminded that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Original source can be found here.