EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Shomanicka Holly, 36, of East Saint Louis, Illinois, pled guilty today to a two-count felony information charging her with health care fraud and making materially false statements on a public housing form.
As part of her plea, Holly admitted to defrauding a government funded health care program by requesting payment for services that she never performed. The Illinois Department of Human Services (“IDHS”) operates a program known as the Personal Assistant program, which pays people to work as personal assistants for qualified disabled individuals. The program, which utilizes federal Medicaid funds, will only pay for work performed while the
disabled individuals are present in their homes.
According to court documents, Holly served as a personal assistant to a qualified disabled person from August 2016 to June 2019. During that time, Holly submitted timesheets requesting payment for providing personal assistant services on dates and times when she was working at another job. In doing so, Holly defrauded the program out of funds by falsely certifying that she was at the disabled person’s home when, in fact, she was on the clock somewhere else.
In addition, Holly pled guilty to a separate charge of making materially false statements on a public housing application. Court documents alleged that Holly received public housing assistance through a program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”).
At her plea hearing, Holly acknowledged that she knowingly failed to disclose on her housing assistance renewal application that another adult resided in her home and earned income. The housing agency relied on this information to allocate its limited resources, including in determining whether Holly was eligible for public housing assistance and the amount of assistance. Holly withheld the information to receive more benefits than she was entitled to.
Health care fraud carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Holly faces up to five years in prison for making a materially false statement on a housing form. She may also be fined up to $250,000 and ordered to pay restitution on each charge.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 13, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. in the federal courthouse in East St. Louis, Illinois.
This case was investigated by agents of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), and the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau (MFCB).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Luke J. Weissler.
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