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10 Virginia workers convicted for filing fake Medicaid claims, counseling without credentials

Ten former employees of Progressive Counseling Services, which is based in Virginia Beach, have been convicted and sentenced.
By Beth Jones Sanborn , Managing Editor

Ten former employees of Progressive Counseling Services, which is based in Virginia Beach, have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in a scheme to defraud the state's Medicaid program by submitting fake claims for mental health services, according to the Norfolk Division of the FBI.

[Also: Running list of notable 2015 healthcare frauds]

Court records show the defendants participated in a scheme whereby nine of them, Selby-Diggs, Barrett, Bing Banks, Etheridge, Jacqueline Harris, Verline Harris, Johnson, Alfreda Stallion, and Johnny Stallion, did business as "Qualified Mental Health Professionals" claiming to have counseled Medicaid-eligible clients in the Tidewater area. A tenth employee, David Weaver, also operated as a mental health professional, and along with the company's owner, fabricated client assessments to get authorization to bill Medicaid for services. The FBI says once they got that authorization, false claims were submitted for services they claimed to have provided in the hopes of milking the system for money. However, authorities say the defendants were not qualified to provide mental health services, the counseling sessions never actually happened and notes documenting the sessions had been falsified.

Half of the defendants plead guilty to various charges related to the scheme, while the others were convicted after a month-long jury trial. Below are the names and sentences of those that were convicted:

  • David Weaver, 71, of Chesapeake-Sentenced on June 5 to 72 months in prison
  • Doretha Selby-Diggs, 40, of Portsmouth-Sentenced on Feb. 18 to 60 months in prison
  • Lisa Barrett, 49, of Norfolk-Sentenced on March 4 to 96 months in prison
  • Barbara Bing Banks, 34, of Hampton-Sentenced on Oct. 30 to 41 months in prison
  • Corey Etheridge, 42, of Chesapeake-Sentenced on July 1 to 72 months in prison
  • Jacqueline Harris, 34, of Portsmouth-Sentenced on March 4 to 60 months in prison
  • Verline Harris, 48, of Virginia Beach-Sentenced on Oct. 27 to 108 months in prison
  • Arlette Johnson, 58, of Virginia Beach-Sentenced on Nov. 6 to 96 months in prison
  • Alfreda Stallion, 52, of Virginia Beach-Sentenced on Nov. 30 to 90 months in prison
  • Johnny Stallion, 34, of Las Vegas-Sentenced on Nov. 16 to 60 months in prison
     

Twitter: @BethJSanborn