Friday, April 19, 2024 | St. Lawrence County, NY
CANTON – A state investigation has turned up a Medicaid-funded employee of Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country who allegedly worked at a Watertown sporting goods store when he said he …
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CANTON – A state investigation has turned up a Medicaid-funded employee of Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country who allegedly worked at a Watertown sporting goods store when he said he was at work for the association.
The joint investigation by the Commission on Quality of Care and the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General has resulted in the recovery of $100,109 in Medicaid funds.
Investigators said the CPANC, based in Canton, was not implicated.
Norman Wayte, a Medicaid service coordinator, is accused of filing time sheets and travel records from 2006 through 2010 claiming that he had been meeting with clients of CPANC out of their Watertown office.
Investigators said a check of employment records at the sporting goods store in Watertown showed that he had actually been working there instead.
Over the four year period Wayte’s salary of more than $100,000 was billed to Medicaid, according to the investigators.
“This is not just a theft of money from Medicaid, but a theft of services from people who are among the most vulnerable among us,” said CQC Chair Roger Bearden.
“Abuse of people with disabilities will not be tolerated, whether that abuse is physical or financial,” Bearden said.
“Wayte’s deliberate actions placed Medicaid enrollees and taxpayers at risk and that's unacceptable,” said Acting Medicaid Inspector General James C. Cox. “Wayte’s aberrant behavior on the part of a trusted employee is never acceptable, and we are confident that the Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country handled both the financial and administrative processes of this case in an appropriate manner.”
Cerebral Palsy Association of the North Country agreed with the findings of the joint investigation by CQC and OMIG and has reimbursed the Medicaid funds that were used to pay Wayte.
Wayte has since been terminated and the case has been referred to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office for further action.
Medicaid service coordinators are responsible for assisting people with disabilities who need services and programs, including modifications to living facilities and help in transitioning into the local community from institutional care.
