Final Defendant Convicted in $189 Million Health Care Fraud Scam
HOUSTON – With the plea of an 80-year-old Houston man, all 14 charged in the scam involving Continuum Healthcare and its various health centers have been convicted, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Bobby Rouse admitted to conspiring to pay and receive kickbacks and to money laundering relating to the Medicare program today.
A total of 13 others have been convicted in relation to the scheme. A federal jury convicted Cheryl Waller, 73, of Houston, March 2, 2017, after a three-day trial on one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and one count of receiving kickbacks. Those all convicted on the conspiracy count include Steven Houseworth, 46, James Bobino, 50, Ernestine Johnson, 60, Jackie Harris, 56, and Vermon Lacy III, 35, all of Houston; David Edson, 71, Palm Harbor, Florida; Jeffery Parsons, 60, Crockett; Aretha Johnson, 67, Wimberley; Inger Michelle Pace, 57, Missouri City; Ronald Turner, 59, Fresno; Deborah Davis, 56, Atlanta, Georgia; and Mary Browning, 71, Beasley. Edson and Parsons were also convicted of two counts of money laundering. Johnson also pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, while Pace and Turner each further admitted to paying and receiving kickbacks.
Rouse, Houseworth, Edson and Parsons were part of the executive team for Continuum Healthcare LLC, which owned Westbury Community Hospital in Houston as well as community mental health centers in the Houston area known by their locations as Hornwood, Baytown and Missouri City.
Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/final-defendant-convicted-189-million-health-care-fraud-scam
