The Office of the Attorney General has revealed that Buenos Dias Adult Daycare owner fraudulently billed the Texas Medicaid Program for over $168,000 in services that were never provided.
On January 31st, Rosalinda Bennett, 78, received an arrest warrant accusing her of committing health care fraud, which is considered a second-degree felony. However, she was able to post bail and was released on the same day.
According to an arrest affidavit, on February 12, 2019, the Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit received anonymous information about Bennett, the owner of Buenos Dias, allegedly using clients to help other clients off transportation vans.
According to court documents, the caller reported that a client with epileptic seizures fell while getting out of the van because the other clients were unable to provide enough support.
According to the caller, a client did not attend the daycare for a period of six months, from June 2018 to December 2018. However, upon analyzing the data, it was found that the client’s Medicaid account was billed until October 2018.
An investigation was initiated on April 12, 2019, to examine the received allegations. Recipients, witnesses, current and former employees, as well as the person in question, were interviewed by investigators and FBI special agents.
According to the records obtained from the Texas Health and Human Services Enrollment Contract for Buenos Aires, it has been verified that Bennett was the sole proprietor of the daycare. Authorities conducted interviews with eleven Medicaid recipients, who provided information regarding the specific timeframe during which they were not present at the daycare.
After conducting a thorough investigation, it was discovered that Buenos Dias had submitted Medicaid claims for adult daycare services that were never provided, according to the affidavit.
Four recipients have mentioned that they attended the daycare during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, upon reviewing Buenos Dias’ daily transportation records, it was discovered that the times recorded for these recipients were falsified. This discrepancy arose because the employee responsible for transporting them was not clocked in at work, according to authorities.
During the interview conducted on September 7, 2023, Bennett affirmed that drivers diligently record the timings of client pickups and drop-offs. Furthermore, she vehemently denied any accusations of billing for services that were not provided.
According to the affidavit, she held the belief that the accusations had been made by former employees.
During the same day, authorities also had a conversation with the director of Buenos Dias. She mentioned that she records the times noted by the drivers and transfers them to an attendance log for billing purposes.
Five former drivers from Buenos Aires were interviewed between May 28, 2019, and Aug. 19, 2024.
According to the affidavit, they admitted to marking clients as present even when they were absent and acknowledged falsifying transportation times for pickups and drop-offs.
According to court documents, the drivers have claimed that they followed instructions from other daycare employees, including the director.
During the investigation, a certified records review was conducted by an investigative auditor to identify any overpayments linked to Medicaid recipients. Following this review, a summary was prepared, which revealed that fraudulent claims for adult daycare services had been submitted by Bennett between January 18, 2020, and April 7, 2022.
According to the affidavit, Buenos Dias Adult Daycare submitted a bill of $168,065.54 to the Texas Medicaid Program for services that were never provided.
