A Tucson couple, Stephen Allen Lamont, and Elvia Lorena Lamont, were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a Medicare fraud scheme. Lamont received a sentence of 30 months in prison, and Elvia Lamont was sentenced to 13 months in prison.
Lamont, age 61, previously pled guilty to Health Care Fraud and his wife, Elvia Lamont, age 51, previously pled guilty to Misprision of a Felony.
According to the Department of Justice, the Lamonts owned and operated Ascension In Home Medical Care NP’s Group, Inc., a home health care business that provided services to the elderly, from 2012 to 2015. In his plea agreement, Lamont admitted that he knowingly submitted false claims for services to Medicare. Lamont fraudulently billed for services that were provided by nurses, medical assistants and a phlebotomist as if they had been performed by a medical doctor or nurse practitioner. Lamont also fraudulently billed at the highest complexity level in order to further pad the billings. On some occasions, Lamont forged the signature of a medical doctor or other Medicare-approved provider before the claims were submitted for reimbursement. Elvia Lamont admitted that she knowingly shared in the proceeds from the Medicare fraud scheme and concealed the scheme from authorities.
In addition to time in prison, the Court ordered both defendants to pay $1,054,839 in restitution to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.