October 19, 2021
Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General
Aaron D. Ford announced that Marcus Lamont Pritchett, 33, and Krystle
Pritchett, 35, were sentenced in a Medicaid fraud case involving falsely billing
for healthcare services.
Marcus
Pritchett and Krystle Pritchett were each sentenced for a Category D felony
offense of Submitting False Claims, Medicaid Fraud by District Court Judge Eric
Johnson. Judge
Johnson sentenced Mr. Pritchett to 12 to 36 months incarceration, suspended, Ms.
Pritchett to 12 to 30 months incarceration, suspended, and placed them both on
probation for two years. As part of the sentence, Mr. Pritchett and Ms.
Pritchett were ordered to pay $2,500,000 and $300,000 in restitution, respectively.
Mr. and Mrs. Pritchett were further ordered to perform 250 hours and 100 hours of
community service, respectively. The fraud occurred between August 2017 and August
2018.
“At
a time when our State is experiencing unprecedented healthcare burdens brought
on by COVID-19, it is vitally important to put a stop to illegal billing
practices that waste taxpayer dollars and siphon off much-needed healthcare
funds,” said AG Ford. “My Office will vigorously investigate and
prosecute healthcare providers who are dishonest in their dealings with
Nevada’s Medicaid program.”
The
investigation began after the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) received
information about questionable billing practices by an entity controlled by
Marcus Pritchett. The entity improperly billed for incarcerated individuals and
billed in excess of twenty-four (24) hours of services per day for individual
service providers. The investigation revealed that Marcus and Krystle Pritchett
owned and/or operated three healthcare services companies: A3 Konsulting,
Better Life Counseling Services and JAK Counseling Services. Through these
three companies, Marcus and Krystle Pritchett submitted claims to Nevada
Medicaid for services purportedly provided by their healthcare professionals, when
in fact such healthcare professionals either did not work for their companies
or did not provide the excessive amounts of services to the Medicaid recipients.
The
MFCU investigates and prosecutes financial fraud by those providing healthcare
services or goods to Medicaid patients. The MFCU also investigates and
prosecutes instances of elder abuse or neglect. The Nevada MFCU receives 75% of
its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant
award. The remaining 25% is funded by the State of Nevada, MFCU. Persons
convicted of Medicaid fraud may also be administratively excluded from future
Medicaid and Medicare participation. Anyone wishing to report suspicions
regarding any of these concerns may contact the MFCU at 702-486-3420 or
775-684-1100.
The case
was prosecuted by Steve Sidhu, Senior Deputy Attorney General.
To view
the criminal information of Marcus Pritchett, click here.
To view
the criminal information of Krystle Pritchett, click here.
To file a
complaint with the Office of the Nevada Attorney General, click here.
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