An Iowa man has been arrested on a warrant for allegedly defrauding Medicaid by spending his father’s money on himself instead of on his father’s nursing home bills. The arresting warrant includes first-degree theft, dependent adult abuse exploitation over $100, and ongoing criminal conduct.
The affidavits that were filed in a county district court by a criminal investigator in the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit state that the plaintiff, while acting as power of attorney (POA) for his father between April 3, 2018 and February 1, 2019, failed to pay the nursing home bills. Instead, the plaintiff spent $18,140.22 from his father’s bank account on himself instead of on his father.
The criminal investigator for Iowa’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit alleges that on February 1, 2019, the plaintiff was told that he could not continue to steal his father’s money and spend it on himself. Between February 20 and March 25, 2019, the plaintiff continued to take the father’s money for his own personal use.
The plaintiff has been released on his own recognizance and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 21, 2021 in a district court.
Issue:
The resident’s designated POA for financial matters must be responsible and pay the resident’s nursing home bills. If the designated POA is not using the resident’s funds for nursing home bills, then Adult Protective Services should be contacted to report exploitation and misappropriation of resident funds. It is a violation of federal and state laws to neglect or abuse a resident through misappropriation of the resident’s money.
Discussion Points:
- Review facility policies and procedures on preventing, identifying, and reporting of exploitation and misappropriation of resident funds. Update the policies as needed.
- Train all staff on the policies and procedures related to misappropriation or exploitation of resident funds and the steps that they should take if they suspect a resident’s money is being exploited or misappropriated. File the signed training document in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit the facility’s bookkeeping of residents’ personal funds and payment of residents’ nursing home bills by POAs to ensure that they are accurate and that there is no indication of exploitation or misappropriation of funds.
