Ex-con charged with bilking $7.3M from Medicaid in Minnesota

(FOX 9) - An ex-con who previously served time for his role in a murder case is accused of bilking $7.3 million from Medicaid in Minnesota by illegally running a health care company by posing as his own mother.

Medicaid fraud in Minneapolis

The backstory:

The suspect, Chavis Willis, 46, is charged with racketeering and five counts of theft by swindle.

The Minnesota Attorney General's Office says Willis was running a Medicaid-funded business that billed out for services it didn't provide.

Willis isn't allowed to run any Medicaid business because of a past conviction for aiding and abetting murder. Willis was sentenced to 13 years behind bars for the case back in 2000.

What we know:

Prosecutors accuse Willis of posing as his mother to run the business "1-0 Granny's Helpful Hands" which operated out of an office on Lake Street in Minneapolis. The criminal complaint accuses Willis of posing as his mother on phone calls and forging her signature on documents.

A former employee told investigators she was present for one phone call when Willis called the Department of Health Services, pretending to be his mother.

Prosecutors say Willis' mother was, at best, only minimally involved with the business.

Willis denied accusations

What they're saying:

According to the criminal complaint, in an email, Willis said his involvement in the business was "fiduciary in nature" and claimed his mother had dementia and was "living in California as an absentee owner." Willis told authorities that there was an agreement for another company to run day-to-day operations of his mother's company.

However, investigators assert that Willis was highly involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, including hiring, firings, and controlling finances. Authorities say employees identified Willis as the owner, and text messages also show he viewed himself as the owner.

The case is being prosecuted by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office through its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

In a provided statement, Ellison said: "When criminals defraud Medicaid, they are stealing money that should be providing health care to folks who are struggling financially. My office has a long record of success in holding Medicaid fraudsters accountable for cheating taxpayers and people in need, and we will keep doing so."