A Palmdale woman is one of eight people who were indicted for allegedly participating in a long-running fraud scheme that stole tens of millions of dollars from a state program that was designed to help underprivileged youth battling substance abuse, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Angela Frances Micklo is expected to self-surrender in the coming weeks, DOJ officials said in a news release issued this week. The 56-year-old Palmdale resident is charged with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, and she potentially faces decades in federal prison if convicted, according to the DOJ.
Micklo is a former employee of Atlantic Recovery Services (ARS), which received contracts to provide substance abuse treatment services through California’s Drug Medi-Cal program to students in schools in Los Angeles County. Micklo managed counselors at approximately nine schools in Los Angeles County, including several in the Antelope Valley, according to the DOJ.
The indictment alleges that ARS received more than $46 million from the Drug Medi-Cal program after ARS submitted false and fraudulent claims for group and individual substance abuse counseling services.
“The defendants named in the indictment are accused of exploiting a program that was set up to help a particularly vulnerable population – young people who are confronting drug and alcohol abuse,” stated U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker for the Central District of California. “According to the indictment, ARS and its employees engaged in a long-running fraud scheme to steal tens of millions of dollars from a program with limited resources that was designed to help underprivileged youth in recovery. In the process, the defendants and ARS branded many innocent young people as substance abusers and addicts in order to boost enrollment numbers and billings.”
ARS allegedly submitted bogus claims for payment to the Drug Medi-Cal program for a decade, according to the indictment. The claims were false and fraudulent for a number of reasons, including:
- ARS billed for services provided to students who did not have substance abuse disorders or addictions and therefore did not qualify to receive Drug Medi-Cal services;
- ARS billed for counseling sessions that were not conducted at all;
- ARS billed for counseling services that were not conducted in accordance with Drug Medi-Cal regulations regarding length, number of students, content and setting;
- ARS personnel falsified documents, including treatment plans, group counseling sign-in sheets, progress notes and update logs (which listed the dates and times of counseling sessions); and
- ARS personnel forged student signatures on documents.
“For counselors and supervisors to risk stigmatizing students as substance abusers, as alleged in this case, just to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense is outrageous,” stated Special Agent in Charge Christian Schrank for the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. “This decade-long conspiracy to defraud Medi-Cal while disregarding the true health care needs of children will not be tolerated.”
ARS shut down in April 2013, when California suspended payments to the company.
The other seven defendants named in the indictment are:
- Lori Renee Miller, 54, of Lakewood, the program manager at ARS who supervised substance abuse recovery managers and counselors;
- Nguyet Galaz, 41, of Montclair, who oversaw services provided at approximately 11 schools in Los Angeles County;
- Maribel Navarro, 48, of Pico Rivera, who managed counselors at approximately ten schools in Los Angeles County;
- Carrenda Jeffery, 64, of the Mid-City District of Los Angeles, who managed counselors at approximately three schools;
- Tina Lynn St. Julian, 51, of Compton, who worked as a counselor at two schools;
- LaLonnie Egans, 57, of Bellflower, who managed counselors at three schools; and
- Shyrie Womack, 33, Egans’ daughter, also of Bellflower, who worked as a counselor at three schools.
Previously, 11 other defendants pleaded guilty to health care fraud charges stemming from the ARS scheme. Those defendants are former ARS managers Cathy Fernandez, 53, of Downey; Erin Hoover, 37, of Long Beach; Elizabeth Black, 51, of Long Beach; Helsa Casillas, 44, of El Sereno; and Sandra Lopez, 41, of Huntington Park; and former ARS counselors Tamara Diaz, 45, of East Los Angeles; Margarita Lopez, 40, of Paramount; Irma Talavera, 27, of Paramount; Laura Vasquez, 52, of Pico Rivera; Cindy Leticia Ortiz, 29, of Norwalk; and Arthur Dominguez, 63, of Glendale.
Another defendant, Dr. Leland Whitson, 75, of Redondo Beach, the former Medical/Clinical Director of ARS, previously pleaded guilty to making a false statement affecting a health care program.
The cases against the 20 defendants are the result of an investigation by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse; and IRS – Criminal Investigation.
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Dave Martrone says
To me it sounds like the counselors were the bad guys. They didn’t want to loose their jobs when things were slow so they falsified their sheets. I don’t think upper management knew anything about it. It could go that way to. Now their fabricating stories against the upper tier of management saying “They made me do it” just to save their hides with some kind of plea bargain.
Tim Scott says
Dave, the grim reality in cases like this is that the people at the top can afford the lawyers, so generally they are the ones making the favorable plea bargains. You could be right, but generally speaking it goes the other way.
Dave Martone says
Thanks Tim for the comment. Your probably right, but I guess evidence will dictate which way it goes. Do you or anybody else think these Managers will do any time? If so how much? I can’t fathom years in prison. I know there’s a soft spot when one tries to cheat the government, but I still think it was the counselors not wanting to loose their jobs on a “slow down” and that these so called sheets that was turned in just went through the upper cracks of management not noticed or challenged Maybe in that, they are responsible, but I just can’t see that warranting decades in prison.
Shary Nassimi says
Informative post. Heard about this news, but still can’t believe a lady can do all this fraud all alone.
Renee says
But the article doesn’t say it was committed by one lady! Didn’t you read it? It named 8 managers/ counselors and another 12 or so, counselors who pleaded guilty. I somehow believe those counselors got lazy, and maybe beefed up the books to make them look good, and keep their jobs. I’m sure much of this wrongdoing got past the managers, and there’s no way the top people in the company could’ve been keeping an eye on each and every site. That was the manager’s jobs, I’m sure…but I feel like this story just wants to sensationalize the managers to make them look like they were actually benefitting from any of this, which To me, it doesn’t look like anyone had benefitted, except to look good. 50 million fraud “scheme”? Wow. the media loves to jump on this stuff…when in fact, the only intention was most likely just that they loved to work in a field that helped people. Does anyone actually think that if any of these “children” getting help were interrogated by federal investigators if they used drugs or alcohol, that they would actually say “yes sir, I am an addict and a gang member”. I don’t think so. Can we please focus on the real issue, now? There are still hundreds of thousands needing help for drug and alcohol and gang- related issues. Where are these kids that were getting that help, now? And how many are in jail, or dead, because they have nowhere to get their treatment after this closing. Did the Government give them options? Of course not, because these kids “aren’t addicts or at risk”. This whole thing just reeks of the gov. finding ways to not spend funding on such important programs, as this one most likely was. Just my two cents.
Johnny Trece says
These people are disgusting. Taking advantage of a program that is meant to help the youth out of drug addiction. Instead, using the program to fill their pockets. They deserve every second of all the Federal time they get sentenced for.
Tim Scott says
Absolutely agreed. It should be noted though that the people getting convicted and sent to prison probably never got anything but “to keep their job” and their regular paycheck. The fifty mill lined the pockets of “the investors” who no doubt “had no idea” there was any wrongdoing going on and have long since struck a deal with the government and gotten on with starting a new business.
Adam Black says
I wonder why the other comments were so quick to relive the upper management of any blame? If people really think that lower level employees in any company are getting away with fifty million dollars, then they just make it that much easier for the next group of managers to do the same, since some are so gullible when it comes to who the biggest criminals in the country are.
Tim Scott says
I could answer that, but calling my fellow commenters names is not my style, even when they are obviously accurate.