Press Release: 2025-03-13 00:00:00

Home Health Agencies, Laboratory, And Physician Indicted For MassHealth Fraud And Kickback Schemes Involving Over $7.8 Million In False Claims

 



Schemes Involved Billing for Services Not Rendered, False Claims for Drug Tests and Home Health Services, Kickbacks and Money Laundering



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



3/12/2025



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Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary



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Call Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543



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Email Sabrina Zafar , Deputy Press Secretary at Sabrina.Zafar2@mass.gov



BOSTON — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced today that the Suffolk County Statewide Grand Jury has returned indictments against several MassHealth providers and their respective owners in connection with alleged fraud and kickback arrangements that collectively resulted in the submission of over $7.8 million in false claims to MassHealth, including for urine drug tests and home health services that were not provided, not medically unnecessary, and/or not properly authorized.   



On March 10, 2025, as a result of charges brought by the AGO, the Suffolk County Statewide Grand Jury returned indictments against:




  • Central Lab Partners, LLC (CLP), a Worcester-based clinical laboratory,

  • Cynthia Norton of West Boylston, owner of CLP,

  • Patient Care Solutions, LLC (PCS), a Danvers-based home health agency,

  • Colette Massamba and Maxwell Dede of Lynn, owners of PCS,

  • Optimum Labs, Inc. (Optimum), a New-Bedford-based clinical laboratory,

  • William Owens of New Bedford, owner of Optimum, and

  • Dr. Maria Batilo, a Falmouth-based physician. 



The AGO alleges that CLP, PCS, and Batilo engaged in a mutual kickback scheme that resulted in CLP and PCS submitting millions of dollars in false claims to MassHealth for urine drug tests and home health services that never occurred, were medically unnecessary, and/or were not appropriately ordered by a doctor. CLP and PCS allegedly identified sober homes that wanted patients to receive frequent urine drug tests for sobriety monitoring purposes and then enrolled those patients in urine drug tests and home health services with their respective companies, despite the tests and services being for purposes of sober home compliance and not medically necessary under MassHealth requirements.  



To make the services appear physician-authorized and medically necessary and thus, payable by MassHealth, the AGO alleges that PCS made payments to Batilo. In exchange, Batilo allegedly authorized PCS’s home health services and CLP’s related drug test orders, even though Batilo was not seeing or providing care to the patients. The AGO further alleges that many of the home health services PCS billed to MassHealth never happened, including for hospitalized or deceased patients.  



As a result of the indictments and in connection with the aforementioned allegations, CLP, Norton, PCS, Massamba, Dede, and Batilo were each charged with various counts of Medicaid False Claims; Larceny over $1,200; and Medicaid Kickbacks. Dede and Massamba were additionally charged with one count each of Money Laundering.



Separately, the AGO alleges that CLP engaged in a kickback scheme with Optimum, where Optimum referred drug tests to CLP in exchange for a portion of related insurance reimbursements. CLP, Norton, Optimum, and Owens were each charged with Medicaid Kickbacks in connection with the allegations.  



The AGO also alleges that Batilo illegally charged MassHealth patients cash, out-of-pocket, for Suboxone, an opioid addiction treatment, despite the treatment being payable by MassHealth. Under state law, providers are prohibited from charging MassHealth members for services covered by MassHealth. Batilo was charged with Medicaid Excess Charges for the alleged conduct. 



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



This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Scott Grannemann, Kevin O’Keefe, and Heidi Lyn Gosule, Investigations Supervisors Shelby Stephens and Joe Shea, Senior Healthcare Fraud Investigators William Welsh and Vanessa Asiatidis, and Investigator Kevin Todd, all of the AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Division, with assistance from the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.  



The AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Division is a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, annually certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to investigate and prosecute health care providers who defraud the state’s Medicaid program, MassHealth. The Medicaid Fraud Division also has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute complaints of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of residents in long-term care facilities and of Medicaid patients in any health care setting. Individuals may file a MassHealth fraud complaint or report cases of abuse or neglect of Medicaid patients or long-term care residents by visiting the AGO’s website.   



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 $5,922,320 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,974,102 for FY 2025, is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.