JEFFERSON CITY — A personal care attendant has pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud after submitting false statements and time records that resulted in more than $37,000 in Missouri Medicaid payments for services that were not provided, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s office has announced.
Darrell Carr pleaded guilty Aug. 3 to healthcare fraud, a class D felony. He was ordered to pay $37,819.39 in restitution to Medicaid and a $10,000 civil penalty, for a total of $47,819.39. He also was sentenced to five years of supervised probation.
The conviction was obtained by the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, according to the attorney general’s office. Carr worked as a personal care attendant for his father-in-law, who was a Medicaid recipient.
Hanaway
“Those who siphon off taxpayer dollars for their own gain are exploiting a system meant to support vulnerable populations, not enrich schemers,” Hanaway said in a statement. “This conviction represents our strong commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars. Our office will continue pursuing every avenue to expose abuses and claw back misused funds.”
Carr was originally hired in 2017 through Medicaid vendor Deer Valley Home Health Services, LLC, to provide care for his father-in-law. In 2021, the recipient’s grandson moved him to a senior living facility.
Both the recipient and his grandson said Carr did not provide services after the recipient moved to the facility, according to the attorney general’s office. Despite that, Carr continued to record time as though he were providing personal care services.
From March 10, 2021, through Feb. 22, 2023, Carr clocked in and out on 509 occasions as a personal care attendant for his father-in-law, the attorney general’s office said.
Those time records were submitted even though the recipient had moved to the senior living facility.
Employment timesheet records also showed that 344 of the 509 false records overlapped with Carr’s work as a security guard at a grocery store, according to the announcement. In those instances, Carr logged time as a personal care attendant while he was working at the grocery store.
By submitting the false statements and time records, Carr received $37,819.39 from Medicaid for services that were not provided, the attorney general’s office said.
Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Investigator Josh King conducted the investigation. Assistant Attorneys General John McKenzie and Lucas Chapman prosecuted the case.
The unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a grant award totaling $3,551,892 for federal fiscal year 2026. Missouri funds the remaining 25%, totaling $1,183,960 for the same fiscal year.
