A King of Prussia resident has been sentenced to state prison for her role in a $1.76 million Medicaid fraud scheme involving a Montgomery County home care agency.
The former owner of ComfortZone Home Health Care was sentenced Wednesday to 17 months to 10 years in state prison and ordered to pay $1.76 million in restitution, according to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
The 54-year-old King of Prussia resident previously pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud and theft by deception.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the criminal conduct occurred between 2020 and 2023. Prosecutors said the former owner approved kickback arrangements, assigned caregivers to clients who did not actually provide services and recruited clients to participate in the scheme.
Three King of Prussia residents were originally charged
The case has an additional local connection.
Three King of Prussia residents were among the defendants originally charged in connection with the ComfortZone investigation.
The charges followed a two-year joint investigation by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section and the FBI into claims submitted by ComfortZone for personal care services that investigators said were never provided.
In all, prosecutors charged 20 people and the agency itself in connection with approximately $1.76 million in false Medicaid claims.
The Attorney General’s Office reported in March that 19 defendants connected to ComfortZone had pleaded guilty. At that time, 14 had been sentenced, five were awaiting sentencing and two additional defendants were awaiting trial.
The case has continued to move through the courts since then.
In its latest update Thursday, the Attorney General’s Office said all but one of the defendants have now pleaded guilty. The announcement did not provide an individual case-status breakdown for each of the other King of Prussia residents originally charged.
Other ComfortZone leaders have been sentenced
The former owner is not the first member of ComfortZone’s leadership to receive a prison sentence.
In January, a former office manager was sentenced to nine to 23 months in prison, followed by four years of probation, after pleading guilty to felony Medicaid fraud, theft by deception and corrupt organizations.
In March, the agency’s former CEO was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in prison, followed by five years of probation. The former CEO was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and pay $1.76 million in restitution, with $350,000 due within six months of sentencing.
ComfortZone Home Health Care was based in East Norriton and was an approved Medicaid provider of personal assistance services.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Section and the FBI jointly investigated the case.
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