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Press Release  Owner of Transportation Company Accused of Massive Medicaid Fraud Scheme Charged With Laundering Millions

Defendant Previously Indicted in Alleged $19 Million Medicaid False Claims Case
For immediate release:
3/22/2018
  • Office of Attorney General Maura Healey

Media Contact   for Owner of Transportation Company Accused of Massive Medicaid Fraud Scheme Charged With Laundering Millions

Emalie Gainey

BostonThe owner of a transportation company already facing criminal charges related to an alleged scheme involving $19 million in Medicaid false claims has been indicted on additional charges that he laundered millions of dollars generated by the criminal operation, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

Michael Davini, age 57, of Rindge, N.H., was indicted on Wednesday by a Worcester County Grand Jury on three counts of Money Laundering. Davini was the owner of Westminster-based Rite Way LLC (Rite Way), which primarily provided MassHealth members with non-emergency transportation services to methadone clinics before it ceased operation in 2015. Davini is scheduled to be arraigned in Worcester Superior Court on April 24.

“We allege this individual made clear attempts to disguise millions of dollars in illicit funds obtained through a massive Medicaid false billing scheme,” said AG Healey. “We will continue to take steps to protect the integrity and success of our MassHealth program and not allow taxpayers and patients to be taken advantage of for personal profit.”

Rite Way provided transportation services throughout the state with offices located in Worcester, Barnstable, Norfolk, and Hampden counties.

In Sept. 2016, Rite Way, Davini, and former managers Gary Carbonello, Dwayne Pelkey and Lynn Maguire were indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury in connection with fraudulently billing the state’s Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, for transportation services that were never provided, including claims for individuals who were hospitalized in inpatient settings, no longer used the company’s services, or were deceased on the claimed dates of service. Rite Way also allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for non-emergency wheelchair van transportation provided to ambulatory individuals and offered and paid cash kickbacks to MassHealth members to recruit others to use its transportation services.

Further investigation by the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division revealed that Davini allegedly laundered millions of dollars and transferred multiple properties that were illegally obtained or financed through the fraudulent Medicaid scheme. Between December 2012 and May 2015, Davini allegedly transferred more than $5.5 million from Rite Way’s operating account into accounts at an investment brokerage firm.

In September 2015, after MassHealth notified Riteway that it was suspending all further payments to the company, Davini allegedly moved $3 million in cash and securities from two accounts held at that investment firm to a new account under his wife’s name in an apparent attempt to shield ill-gotten gains from recovery by the Commonwealth. The AG’s Office also alleges that Davini transferred title to two homes that he owned to his wife around the same time.

All of these charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Ian Marinoff and Jay McCormack, Investigations Supervisor Dean Bates, and Investigators Robert Ames, Aleksandra Andriyevskaya and Eduardo Guardiola, all of AG Healey’s Medicaid Fraud Division.

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Media Contact   for Owner of Transportation Company Accused of Massive Medicaid Fraud Scheme Charged With Laundering Millions

  • Office of the Attorney General 

    Attorney General Maura Healey is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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