March 16,  2010

            LANSING -  Attorney General Mike Cox today announced the arrest of Deborah D'Anna, of Ocala, Florida, on charges of Medicaid Fraud and Racketeering.  D'Anna allegedly filed over $3,375,000 in fraudulent Medicaid billings from 2007-2009.  Under the scheme, Palmer Park Medical Center billed Michigan Medicaid for millions in services never actually rendered by its clinics in Detroit and Romulus, both of which had ceased operations in 2005. 

An investigation by Attorney General Mike Cox's Health Care Fraud Division found that D'Anna, who served as company owner and office manager, used Medicaid PIN numbers assigned to physicians formerly employed by Palmer Park under contract with the Wayne County juvenile system.  The doctors and facilities were not implicated in the fraud.

"The defendant brazenly fleeced Michigan tax payers for millions," said Cox. "Fighting Medicaid fraud saves millions of tax dollars, helps Michigan's budget, and most importantly, ensures Michigan residents receive needed medical services."

D'Anna, who allegedly spent $88,000 alone for merchandise from the television shopping channel known as QVC, was arrested today on a warrant issued by 54-B District Court Judge David Jordan in East Lansing.   The arrest took place at her residence in Ocala, Florida by agents of the Michigan Department of Attorney General, the Marion County Sheriff's Department, and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.  The Michigan Department of Community Health also assisted in the investigation, which is ongoing. 

D'Anna is charged with:

·         Twenty-five counts of felony Medicaid Fraud (4 years and/or $50,000 each)

·         One count of felony Racketeering, (20 years and/or $100,000)

D'Anna is currently being held by the Marion County Sheriff's Department pending extradition to Michigan.  Once in Michigan, she will be arraigned at the 54-B District Court in East Lansing.  Judge Jordan set an interim bond of $10,000,000.    

"I would like to thank the Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, the Marion County Sheriffs Department and the Michigan Department of Community Health for their assistance and cooperation in this investigation in order to shut down this Medicaid fraud operation," stated Cox.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Efforts by Cox's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit have recovered a record $172.6 million since he took office, more than nine times the amount collected by Michigan's previous two attorneys general.

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