Adult Day Care Owner Pleads Guilty to $500,000 Medicare Fraud Scheme

A Michigan woman pleaded guilty today to billing Medicare for psychotherapy services that were never provided to residents of her adult day care center.

According to court documents, Yolanda Matthews, 58, of Farmington Hills, admitted to continually billing and submitting false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for psychotherapy services that were never provided. Matthews admitted to fraudulently billing for providing services at her adult day care center during periods in which the Medicare beneficiary was actually admitted to a hospital, forging claims in the names of social workers who were no longer employed at the adult day care center, and even billing Medicare for providing psychotherapy services to beneficiaries after they had died. All told, Matthews submitted over $539,000 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.

Matthews was charged as part of the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. Matthews pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division; Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Reuben Coleman of the FBI Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ethridge of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI Detroit Field Office and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Jeffrey A. Crapko of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division"). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

The Department of Justice's Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.