Bensalem woman charged with defrauding Medicaid of nearly 1 million through home care scheme

(WPHL) — A Bensalem woman has been charged after she was found to have defrauded Medicaid out of over one million dollars.

According to United States Attorney David Metcalf, 59-year-old Hemal Patel has been charged as part of the Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.

Patel was charged with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, where she recieved illegal payments by reffering home care patients to home care agencies.

Through this scheme, Patel devised a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicaid for home care services that were never provided, resulting in a loss to Medicaid of approximately $1,069,384.38.

Through her schemes, Patel forged signatures on forms required to certify individuals as eligible for home care services, and unlawfully used individuals’ personally identifiable information without their knowledge to enroll them for home care services they were not entitled to while those individuals were out of the country.

This latest arrest is part of a “strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in criminal charges against 324 defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud and illegal drug diversion schemes that involved the submission of over $14.6 billion in intended loss and over 15 million pills of illegally diverted controlled substances.”

The United States has seized over $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles, and other assets in connection with the takedown.

“Health care fraud hurts us all, heightening the cost of services and threatening their availability to people in need,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “My office will continue to target fraud, waste, and abuse within our federal health care programs and ensure that individuals stealing taxpayers’ money answer for their crimes.”