Docs: Owner of Indianapolis mental health provider had more than $2.7 million in fraudulent Medicaid charges

INDIANAPOLIS — A New Palestine man has been charged after more than $2.7 million in fraudulent Medicaid charges were reported from his mental health provider business.

According to court documents filed on Oct. 21 in Marion County, 57-year-old Kevin Calvert has been charged with:

• Seven counts of Medicaid fraud, including four Level 5 felony counts and three Level 6 felony counts
Sponsored
• 24 counts of fraud, where the loss is between $50,000 and $100,000, each a Level 5 felony
• 12 counts of fraud, where the loss is between $750 and $50,000, each a Level 6 felony

In January 2024, officials with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration contacted the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Indiana Attorney General’s office. The FSSA claimed that TRUTH Treatment Centers Inc., a mental health provider specializing in addiction treatment in Indianapolis, was participating in fraudulent billing to Medicaid.

Court documents indicate that one of the owners of the business was identified as Calvert. The initial complaint from the FSSA alleged that the business was “billing for services not supported by documentation and unqualified providers were rendering services.”

The complaint also alleged that the business was using recent graduates of the drug treatment program through TRUTH Treatment Centers to provide counseling without the required education and licensure.

Officials claim that the person who was listed as a provider on FSSA billing documents was a licensed anesthesiologist, but ended up being a person who never provided services or held any official role with TRUTH Treatment Centers.

The documents state that signatures related to the business from the anesthesiologist were also not his own.

“(The anesthesiologist) added that he is not even qualified, in his opinion, to do that type of work because it is not his specialty,” officials said in the court documents, referencing a reported interview with the anesthesiologist. “(The anesthesiologist) said he works in a hospital and ‘puts people to sleep and wakes them up.’ He was surprised to hear that the billing from TRUTH Treatment Center was under his name.”

In a reported interview with Calvert, the documents state he denied responsibility for billing claims using the anesthesiologist’s identity without permission, stating that the anesthesiologist’s role with the center never came to fruition.

Ultimately, the documents stated that there were 43 charges between December 2020 to May 2024 to Medicaid totaling $2,754,498.22. These charges were reportedly falsely claimed to be performed by or under the supervision of the anesthesiologist using his national provider identification.

“We take very seriously our responsibility to protect Indiana’s resources from fraudsters,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a news release surrounding the investigation. “The Medicaid program is meant to help low-income individuals get the health care they need. Our office will continue to ensure that Hoosiers’ tax dollars supporting this program are protected from fraud and abuse, and we would ask anyone with information about suspected fraud of this nature to please report it to our office.”

According to court documents, a $700 cash bond was received in Calvert’s case by the Marion County Clerk’s office on Saturday. Calvert’s initial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday morning.