South Raleigh News

Attorney General Josh Stein announced a settlement of $2,505,000 to address claims against Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare Services, LLC. The allegations involve the submission of false claims to the North Carolina Medicaid program by the company and its owners, Bertha Hutchinson and Virgil Hutchinson. This resolution was achieved in collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

"Medicaid dollars are taxpayer dollars, and health care providers need to be responsible stewards of this money," said Attorney General Josh Stein. He expressed gratitude towards U.S. Attorney Easley for his cooperation in safeguarding Medicaid funds.

U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr., emphasized their joint efforts: "This is yet another example of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office working together to proactively pursue fraud in our publicly-funded healthcare programs." He warned that fraudulent billing would not be tolerated and pledged ongoing efforts to eliminate healthcare fraud.

The investigation revealed that from March 2016 to July 2020, Southeastern allegedly made improper claims for services not rendered or necessary or concerning patients who were incarcerated or deceased without adequate medical records.

The federal and state False Claims Acts permit recovery of triple damages plus civil penalties per false claim submitted. However, these civil claims are merely allegations with no judicial determination or admission of liability involved.

The case was investigated by several agencies including the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, OIG-HHS, and MID within the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office.

MID focuses on prosecuting healthcare providers defrauding Medicaid as well as addressing patient abuse in facilities receiving Medicaid funding. Since its inception, MID has recovered over $1 billion for North Carolina through restitution and penalties.