Posted October 29, 2016 12:45 am
By Sandy Hodson Staff Writer
Psychologists, ex-employee testify in Medicare fraud case


The psychological reports on troubled children looked typical, except for the forged signatures, three psychologists testified Friday in the Medicaid fraud trial for the top executives of TWI Counseling Inc.

While two of the psychologists had done contract work for TWI, a private company that provided intensive family intervention services for children in danger of losing their homes, a third, Edward Orr of the Atlanta area, never worked for TWI. But two
psychological reports bearing his forged signatures were found at the TWI corporate office in Vidalia, Ga., when investigators searched it and storage facilities in Vidalia and Augusta in December 2012.

In 2015, a Richmond County grand jury returned an indictment against TWI Chief Executive Officer Carl "Tony" Wardlaw, his wife and company Chief Financial Officer Stephanie Wardlaw, his sister and top lieutenant Stephanie McCloud, and his sister-in-law
and director of human resources Sarah Wardlaw.

Three other former employees – Bryan Holmes, Eric Johnson and Janelle Lambert – pleaded guilty in the case and are serving probation terms. Derrick Kimble was also indicted, but the charges against him were dismissed in April.

The Wardlaw family members have pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to one count of conspiracy and 15 counts of Medicaid fraud. Their lawyers told jurors in opening statements this week that if there was any fraud, it was done by
employees in the Augusta and Atlanta offices.

Testimony in the trial will continue Monday as prosecutors work to convince the jury that the Wardlaw family members on trial conspired to defraud the Medicaid program of more than $3 million by falsifying documentation submitted for payments.

Kimble testified Friday that he opened the TWI offices in Augusta and Atlanta and worked for Tony Wardlaw until late 2011, when they parted ways. When he left, he forwarded work emails to his private account, emails shown to the jury Friday as he
testified about discovering numerous psychological reports of children had been tampered with and fraudulently created. The diagnoses for two children were changed to reflect conditions that Medicaid would pay for, he testified.

Psychologist Deborah Wilson testified Friday that she and Kimble were called to the Vidalia corporate office in early 2011 before an audit. They were told they needed to help prepare clients' files that were missing documents necessary to be in
compliance with Medicaid regulations. Wilson admitted she created case notes for patients' files at that session, which she knew was wrong, she testified.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2016-10-29/psychologists-ex-employee-testify-medicare-fraud-case

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