Owner of Erie County Home Health Care Agency Jailed, Ordered to Pay Restitution in $1.86M Medicaid Fraud Scheme
HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that Tina Bell, owner and manager of Superior Health, Inc. — an Erie County home care agency — was sentenced to 11 to 23 months in prison for Medicaid fraud and endangering vulnerable individuals under her care.
Bell, 56, received Medicaid reimbursement for her company’s multiple shared care homes when she perpetrated the fraud scheme. She billed Medicaid for services that were not provided and falsely reported the qualifications of caregivers. In doing so, she endangered the vulnerable residents her agency was responsible to care for, many of whom were wheelchair bound.
Bell previously pleaded guilty to felony charges of Medicaid fraud, tampering with public records, and neglect of a care-dependent person. She was sentenced this week to the prison term, plus six years of probation, and was ordered to pay more than $1.8 million in restitution. She will also be precluded from being a Medicaid provider.
She was taken to prison following Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
“This defendant was determined in her efforts to defraud Medicaid, first by knowingly filing false reports, then by falsifying records when she knew she was being audited and investigated,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Her actions not only defrauded the Medicaid program but endangered the vulnerable Pennsylvanians who depended on her for safe and adequate care.”
Bell also lost her nursing license as a result of this case.
When the Pennsylvania Department of Health audited Superior Health, Bell falsified records to cover up short staffing, the absence of mandatory training, and the failure to conduct mandatory health screenings of employees. She also created false medical and financial documentation to justify fraudulent claims for payment.
This case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Samuel Zappala, and Attorney-In-Charge Kee Song from the Medicaid Fraud Control Section.
The Pennsylvania Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $13,491,632 for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $4,497,207 for FY 2026, is funded by Pennsylvania.
###
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
