Woman charged in Medicaid fraud, allegedly used her children in scam

The Minnesota attorney general's office says a woman bilked taxpayers out of more than $200,000 by fraudulently claiming that her children needed personal care attendants.

Nena Jean Jones, 38, was charged Monday in Hennepin County court with 10 felony theft counts. Jones, who now lives in Madison, Wis., is the latest person to face charges in a scam prosecutors say unfolded over six years.

Investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit say Jones falsely claimed that her children received help from personal care assistants.

According to the criminal complaint, in 2012, Jones allegedly registered two of her children to receive PCA services through three separate personal care provider organizations.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Prosecutors say Jones signed dozens of timesheets for PCAs, affirming that the attendants provided her children with two to five hours of help each day with tasks such as dressing, grooming, bathing and eating.

But authorities say more than three-quarters of those hours were purportedly provided by three of Jones' family members, who lived in Chicago at the time she signed the timesheets. Investigators say one of the relatives stated that he and Jones shared access to a bank account.

Court documents also say Jones exchanged text messages with the manager of a Brooklyn Center PCA provider in order to arrange fraudulent payments. Aretina Williams, 35, a manager at Your Way Home Care, was charged last year with 10 counts of aiding and abetting theft by false representation and one count of attempted theft by swindle. Williams has not entered a plea.

Investigators found carbon copies of handwritten cash payment receipts Your Way made to Jones. In 2013 alone, the company paid Jones more than $20,000 and billed Medicaid more than $29,000.

Prosecutors say the children's father stated that there was "nothing wrong" with his children and that they did not need or receive PCA services when he lived with them. He also allegedly said that he saw Jones coach the children on how to behave when interacting with medical professionals in order to obtain and maximize PCA hours.

Investigators allege Jones signed false timesheets for other PCAs. In March, Tanina Henry, 28, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of theft by swindle and admitted that she was living in Illinois during the time she was reported to be caring for Jones' children.

Last Friday, Nicole Schwab, 29, who worked at Caring for Angels home care in Brooklyn Center, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting theft by swindle. Prosecutors agreed to drop eight other felony charges.

Also charged in connection with the case are Lasania Oda, 38, of Phoenix, the owner of Caring for Angels, and Lillian Richardson, 53, of Shakopee, an employee there.

Oda and Richardson have each pleaded not guilty. Authorities say Richardson is excluded from working at businesses that receive Medicaid funds because of a 2012 conviction for Medicaid fraud.