Federal prosecutors in Maine have charged a South Portland personal care agency, its owner and five others with conspiring to defraud MaineCare by entering electronic visit verification (EVV) records for personal care that, the government says, was never provided.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maine announced the arrests on Oct. 27. The indictment names Community Home Health Care LLC, a licensed personal care agency, and its owner, Noora Abd, 37. It also names Faysal Kalayaf Manahe, 51, Adel Al Rashid, 47, Sura Almohammed, 47, Ether Alyaseen, 46, and Mohammed Alkhalaf, 41, whom prosecutors describe as agency employees who worked as personal support specialists and in other roles.

An indictment is an accusation, not a finding of guilt. All six defendants pleaded not guilty in federal court in Bangor and were released on conditions, WMTW reported on Oct. 28.

What the government alleges

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the agency and its staff submitted false EVV records so MaineCare would pay for personal care services that did not happen. Prosecutors say the agency billed more than $600,000 since 2020 for services said to have been provided to one client. The Portland Press Herald reports the indictment, signed Oct. 22, says the state later reversed $35,000 of those payments.

Abd and Manahe are also charged with obstructing a health care fraud investigation. The Press Herald, citing the indictment, says the alleged obstruction involved urging someone not to talk to law enforcement after FBI searches in Augusta and Biddeford on June 23. Alkhalaf is also charged with making a false statement to investigators.

The conspiracy charge carries up to 10 years in prison, and the obstruction and false-statement charges carry up to five years each.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation, with help from Maine's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Attorney General's office. The Justice Department says it is part of its Homeland Security Task Force initiative. U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Benson said in the release that protecting federally funded health programs "for those who really need them is paramount."

What the defense says

Abd's attorney, Michael Conley, told the Press Herald that "an indictment is an accusation. It is not a finding," and argued in a court filing that prosecutors have not reported an actual loss. An attorney for Manahe said his client is innocent and called the case "a politically expedient prosecution." Benson said all of the defendants are U.S. citizens, according to the Press Herald.

Earlier state actions

WMTW reports that Maine's Department of Health and Human Services had previously cited the agency for more than $49,000 in alleged overpayments for services billed between 2016 and 2019, and that the company repaid that amount in August. The Press Herald reports the agency was one of five whose Medicaid payments the state had suspended, citing DHHS.

Why EVV is at the center

Federal law requires states to use EVV for Medicaid personal care and home health visits. The system records who provided the service, when and where. A KFF survey published Oct. 5 found that nearly every state now checks home care claims against EVV data, which DSN covered at the time. As this case shows, EVV records are also evidence. Prosecutors here allege the visit records themselves were false.

The case also lands during a broader federal push on home care fraud. On Oct. 20 the Justice Department launched a Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program that pays $10,000 to $30,000 for tips leading to criminal charges and says it will prioritize health care tips involving hospice, home health care, day care and special services. Benson said the investigation in Maine is ongoing.

What this means for providers and DSPs

For provider agencies that bill MaineCare for personal care or other home and community-based services, the case is a reminder that EVV data are reviewed both by payers and by investigators. Agencies should be able to show that every EVV entry reflects a real visit, that manual edits are documented and approved, and that supervisors spot-check visits against care notes. Clear written policies on who may adjust a visit record, and why, protect both the agency and its workers.

For direct care workers and DSPs, the key point is that a clock-in is a legal record. Workers should never check in for a visit they are not making or let someone else use their login, and should report pressure to do either. Maine's DHHS, the Maine Attorney General's office and the HHS Office of Inspector General all take fraud reports.

DSN will follow the case as it moves through federal court.