Courtesy | Attorney General Maura Healey's office
Attorney General Maura Healey
October 25, 2019
Winchendon firm owner pleads guilty to $19M Medicaid fraud
By Sam Bonacci
The former owner of Winchendon transportation company Rite Way has pleaded guilty to charges related to an alleged $19 million in Medicaid fraud.
Michael Davini, age 59, of Rindge, N.H., pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court on Thursday to charges of larceny over $250 (2 counts), Medicaid false claims (2 counts), and kickbacks (1 count). His company, Rite Way LLC, pleaded guilty to Medicaid false claims (2 counts). The company was registered out of Winchendon in its corporation filings with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Davini will be sentenced in Worcester Superior Court on Nov. 4, according to a release from Attorney General Maura Healey’s office. Davini was indicted with others in September 2016, and the case was set to go to trial next week.
“This defendant stole millions from MassHealth and took healthcare resources away from those who needed them,” said Healey in a release. “We will not allow bad actors to take advantage of patients and taxpayers for personal profit.”
Rite Way was a non-emergency transportation service before it ceased operation in 2015. According to Healey’s office, between April 2011 and September 2015, Davini fraudulently and repeatedly billed MassHealth for transportation services 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. Investigators found Rite Way provided non-emergency wheelchair van transportation provided to ambulatory individuals and paid cash kickbacks to MassHealth members to recruit others to use its transportation services.
Three other associates of Davini already pleaded out in June 2018.
Gary Carbonello pleaded guilty to the following charges:
• Larceny over $250 (2 counts)
• Medicaid false claims (2 counts)
• Kickbacks (1 count)
He was sentenced to 5 years of probation, and must pay $100/month in restitution for 5 years
Dwayne Pelkey pleaded guilty to the following charges:
• Larceny over $250 (1 count)
• Medicaid false claims (1 count)’
He was sentenced to 5 years of probation, and must pay $225/month in restitution for 5 years
Lynn Maguire pleaded guilty to the following charges:
• Larceny over $250 (1 count)
• Medicaid false claims (1 count)
• Perjury (2 counts)
She was sentenced to 2.5 years in the House of Correction, suspended for 5 years and must pay $45/month in restitution for 5 years or until she’s paid a total of $2,662.26
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments