Press Release  Worcester-Based Home Care Company And Its Managers Indicted For $1.6 Million Medicaid Fraud Scheme

WORCESTER — The managers of Union Home Health Care Services, LLC (Union), a Worcester-based group adult foster care (GAFC) company, were arrested and arraigned yesterday in connection with a scheme to defraud the state’s Medicaid program (MassHealth) of more than $1.6 million, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s Office has announced. 

Bernice Codjia, age 39, and Augustus Kormah, age 66, both of Worcester, were indicted by a Worcester County Grand Jury on November 15, 2023. Their company, Union, was also indicted. Each defendant was charged with Medicaid False Claims. Codjia and Union were also charged with Larceny Over $1,200.  

MassHealth’s GAFC program is designed to provide sufficient assistance to MassHealth members who are elderly or have disabilities to enable them to live independently. GAFC services assist MassHealth members with performing daily life activities, such as eating, bathing, housekeeping and laundry. To be eligible for GAFC services, a registered nurse must conduct an assessment of the member and attest to their eligibility for GAFC services, which is then submitted to MassHealth. 

The AG’s Office alleges that Union, as well as its former manager Codjia, used fraudulent nursing assessments and forms to sign up MassHealth members and bill MassHealth for GAFC services that had not been authorized by a registered nurse. The AG’s Office further alleges that Union billed for services it never rendered to MassHealth patients, including periods when those members were receiving treatment from different providers at inpatient facilities.  

At the arraignment, Codjia and Kormah were ordered to surrender their passports and not to travel out of state or internationally, not to bill or supervise billing to MassHealth, not to own or hold a management role at any MassHealth provider, and to stay away from and have no contact with former employees of Union and MassHealth members who were enrolled at Union. 

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

This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Katie Davis and Investigators Ashley Marquez, Thomas Barreca, and Vanessa Asiatidis, all of the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division. MassHealth, Coastline Elderly Services, the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office, and the Worcester Police Department provided assistance during the investigation. 

The Massachusetts Medicaid Fraud Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,865,996 for federal fiscal year 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,955,330 for FY 2024, is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  

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