Residential home left vulnerable clients to ‘fend for themselves’ in Texas, feds say
The owner of an adult day care center and residential home program in Texas failed to provide basic needs to her clients and left some of them “to fend for themselves” in a $1.8 million health care scheme, federal authorities say.
Scherry Lynn Moses, 54, was sentenced on April 25 to 60 years in federal prison. She’s also ordered to pay back $1,784,817.96 for her role in the fraud and theft of Social Security benefits, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
“Instead of providing necessary services to trusting elderly and disabled Texas citizens, this defendant chose to fleece them of their Medicaid and Social Security benefits for her own selfish gain,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff in a statement. “We will continue to seek justice on behalf of these vulnerable members of our society and the critical government programs that serve them.”
The defense attorney representing Moses did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on April 27.
Moses had pleaded guilty to health care fraud, wire fraud and theft of government funds on March 4, 2020, according to court records.
Authorities say her scheme took place from 2008 to 2016 when she owned and operated New Creation Residential Care Homes, which boarded Social Security recipients, and Scherry’s Adult Day Activity Center, both in San Antonio.
With the residential care homes, she was accused of using their Social Security money for personal gain.
“She charged each boarder from $500 to $700 a month to live in a rental property, often placing five to seven boarders to a property,” authorities said in the news release. “Moses inconsistently provided the boarders with basic needs and at times left them to fend for themselves.”
As part of her service, she was supposed to provide at least “two meals a day, bed, paid utilities and monthly allowance for personal purchases,” according to court records.
Moses rented homes and properties for $1,000 to $2,500 a month, and each place would house eight to 10 beneficiaries, records show. Those payments were in addition to the $4,500 to $7,000 she’d receive each month as part of their Social Security benefits.
While authorities say she had enough to pay the rent on each property, she refused to do so — “resulting in forcible evictions of the boarders.”
Those residents were forced to live in hotels and motels, records show, and Moses failed to report the evictions to the government. She continued to receive their benefits “for her own personal use.”
Moses took several trips to Louisiana casinos during that time while also leaving the boarders without supervision or their money, officials say.
“Scherry Moses knowingly abused her role and ignored her responsibilities when she misused multiple Social Security beneficiaries’ benefit payments for her own use,” said Gail S. Ennis, inspector general for the Social Security Administration, in the news release.
With the adult day care business, authorities say Moses’ scheme included the fraudulent billing of Medicaid “for items and services that had not been provided to the clients,” according to the news release.