Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of Louisiana

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Harvey Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Receive Illegal Kickbacks

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that ELESHIA WILLIAMS, age 45, of Harvey, pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to receive illegal kickbacks.

On March 12, 2015, WILLIAMS was indicted along with 19 other defendants in a 26-count indictment charging approximately $30,052,295 in Medicare fraud.

According to court documents, WILLIAMS was a marketer for Abide Home Health Care Services, Inc. (Abide), a Louisiana home health agency. WILLIAMS contacted an Abide employee to confirm that the person she fraudulently referred for home health was a Medicare beneficiary.  Once it was determined the referred individual was a Medicare beneficiary, an Abide co-conspirator scheduled a physician visit, usually with an Abide House Doctor – also a co-conspirator – well knowing that the individual referral to Abide was by a Marketer, instead of the beneficiary’s own health care professional.

WILLIAMS faces a maximum term of five years imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan set sentencing for September 21, 2016.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrice Harris Sullivan, Sharan Lieberman and Andre Lagarde are in charge of the prosecution.