On April 2, 2021, the DOJ announced in a PRESS RELEASE that a federal criminal complaint was filed charging a husband and wife of Silver Spring, Maryland, (and their employee) with health care kickbacks and conspiracy to receive unlawful kickbacks, in connection with their company, Holy Health Care, Services, LLC (“Holy Health”).
The criminal complaint is sealed, but the Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint and Arrest Warrants is below:
According to the Affidavit, Julius Bakari owns and operates Holy Health, and is also the CEO and President. His wife Kabiwa Bakari is the Vice President. Holy Health is permitted to provide healthcare services to D.C. Medicaid recipients under provider agreements with D.C.’s Department of Health Care Finance. Holy Health is also certified by DC’s Department of Behavioral Health to perform mental health services.
The Affidavit alleges that Holy Health paid homeless people to physically sign in and pose as patients of mental health facilities, then fraudulently bill the Medicaid plans of those homeless individuals for mental health treatment services that Holy Health did not provide. Moreover, the Affidavit alleges Holy Health operated a van service to transport the homeless individuals from a park. Holy Health allegedly billed for mental health services when the homeless individuals did not see a physician or other healthcare provider, and continued to bill for mental health services when the homeless individuals ceased to attended appointments.
Lastly, the Affidavit alleges that Bakari and Kabiwa used funds from a non-profit to provide the kickback payments as “stipends.”
As set out in the DOJ Press Release, a criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.