TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has announced the arrest of Latrena Marie Thomas, owner of A River’s Journey, a home health services agency, and Donald Ray Adams II, a parent of a disabled child. Both individuals are accused of committing Medicaid provider fraud.
A River’s Journey operates residential home care facilities in Yulee and Jacksonville. Thomas allegedly hired non-licensed individuals to provide personal care services to Medicaid recipients. She also paid Adams to provide medically licensed care for his own child who is a Medicaid recipient. It is alleged that Thomas fraudulently billed Medicaid claims for 30 distinct medically needy recipients, resulting in a total loss exceeding $1.6 million.
“This fraudulent billing scheme not only defrauded the Florida Medicaid program out of more than $1.6 million but did so at the expense of Medicaid-dependent recipients, one being a disabled child," said Attorney General Ashley Moody. "In addition to manipulating the system for extra money, the hiring of unqualified and unlicensed medical staff resulted in poor treatment and medical emergencies for Medicaid patients. I’m grateful for our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for putting a stop to this scheme.”
The investigation revealed that Thomas and her agency employed individuals who were not licensed as certified nursing assistants or home-health aides to provide hands-on personal care to Medicaid recipients. Several employees would have failed the Level 2 background screening required by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Furthermore, A River’s Journey lacked a Director of Nursing on staff to oversee the work of licensed practical nurses and other staff members.
Thomas is also accused of falsifying various documents including the agency’s employee roster, progress notes, service logs and plan-of-care documents. She billed for round-the-clock nursing care while paying Adams. Her negligent assignment of unqualified staff led to three separate medical emergencies involving patients.
Adams was paid by A River’s Journey for providing unsigned progress notes for his own child’s care. He received payments in cash, gift cards and bank deposits from the agency. In total, Adams received $7,320 for his involvement in the fraudulent scheme.
Thomas faces one count of Medicaid provider fraud, a first-degree felony with damages exceeding $50,000. Adams is charged with one count of Medicaid provider fraud, a third-degree felony involving damages less than $10,000.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Thomas while the Clay County Sheriff's Office apprehended Adams. Attorney General Moody’s MFCU will prosecute the case through the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
The Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes providers that intentionally defraud the state’s Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices. The unit also investigates allegations of patient abuse, neglect and exploitation in facilities receiving payments under the Medicaid program.
The Florida MFCU is funded through a grant totaling $29,707,695 for Federal Fiscal Year 2024 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. The Federal Share of these funds is 75%, totaling $22,280,772. The State Matching Share is 25%, amounting to $7,426,923 and is funded by Florida.