MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) -- Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Wednesday that his office has filed a lawsuit against the former owners of Dynamic Therapy Center, LLC, a defunct therapy clinic in Mt. Juliet, for defrauding Tennessee’s Medicaid program.

According to Skrmetti's office, the lawsuit filed in the Wilson County Circuit Court accused Karyn Kurth and Michelle Hill -- who owned and operated Dynamic Therapy Center from 2020 to 2023 -- of knowingly submitting false claims to TennCare.

Kurth and Hill allegedly billed TennCare for individual physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy sessions while actually providing group therapy to children in sessions they called "camps." Officials said this fraudulent scheme led to a substantial amount of overpayments to Dynamic Therapy Center since TennCare reimburses individual therapy sessions at higher rates than group sessions.

“Fraudsters who abuse our trust to rip off TennCare are stealing from Tennessee taxpayers and will be held accountable,” said Skrmetti. “As always, our Office is grateful to fight for Tennessee taxpayers and TennCare patients alongside our partners at the TBI.”

The AG's office said Tennessee wants to recover more than $300,000 in fraudulent payments; treble damages as allowed under state law; civil penalties of $14,308 to $28,619 per violation; and additional remedies the court deems appropriate under the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act.

You can read the complaint provided by Skrmetti's office below. News 2 has redacted the defendants' home addresses for privacy reasons.

Officials said a referral from TennCare's Office of Program Integrity sparked the joint investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Civil Medicaid Fraud Division at the AG's office.

“We’re committed to doing our part to protect the tax dollars meant to support our most vulnerable,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “This case is another great example of how partnership among law enforcement agencies can work to hold accountable those abusing the TennCare system.”

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/tennessee-ag-files-medicaid-fraud-lawsuit-against-former-mt-juliet-clinic/