Collection Agency Owner Pleas Guilty in Medicaid Fraud Scam

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo Monday announced the criminal conviction of a Western New York debt collection agency owner who bribed a county worker as part of an extensive Medicaid scam.

Deborah Kantor, owner and operator of H.I.S. Holdings, Inc. (H.I.S.), a debt collection agency that serviced Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and other Western New York hospitals, pleaded guilty Monday to various charges related to her dealings with Medicaid reimbursement programs. Kantor and H.I.S. bribed Michael Albrecht, a Niagara County Department of Social Services employee, in exchange for Medicaid client identification numbers and his approval of Medicaid applications that had incomplete or false information.

From 2000 to 2007, Kantor and H.I.S. paid Albrecht more than $17,749 in checks and cash as part of the scheme, including $50 for each active Medicaid client identification number that he provided.

Kantor pleaded guilty Monday to one count of Bribery in the Third Degree and three counts of Rewarding Official Misconduct in the Second Degree. A guilty plea was also entered on behalf of her company, H.I.S., to one count of Bribery in the Second Degree. Kantor faces a maximum sentence of seven years in prison on these charges, while H.I.S. faces a fine of up to $10,000 or twice the amount of the corporation’s gain from the crime, whichever is greater.

The plea also settles a civil lawsuit from Cuomo’s office seeking recovery of approximately $725,000 from Kantor, which represents the amount of fraudulent Medicaid benefits the State paid as a result of the scheme.

In January, Kantor and H.I.S., along with another H.I.S. employee, Amy Gardner, were found guilty after trial by a Niagara County jury for submitting a Medicaid application that they knew falsely reported the address of the applicant in order to get the Niagara County Department of Social Services to approve the applicant’s Medicaid eligibility.

Kantor will be sentenced on all charges related to the scheme on August 12. Albrecht previously pleaded guilty to Attempted Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree, a class E felony, and will be sentenced in September.

All proceedings took place before the Honorable Sara Sheldon Sperrazza in Niagara County Court. Attorney General Cuomo thanked the administration and staff of the Niagara County Department of Social Services for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.