Home Health Aide Indicted for Medicaid Fraud

Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella announces that Elis Urena De Cruz (age 41) of Manchester, New Hampshire, has been indicted for Medicaid fraud in connection with fraudulent claims for home care services that were not provided.

On November 18, 2022, the Merrimack County Grand Jury indicted Urena De Cruz on charges of Theft by Deception and False Claims. The indictments allege that, between March 24, 2021 and March 31, 2021, Urena De Cruz submitted fraudulent timesheets to her employer, MAS Staffing, falsely stating that she was providing home care services to an individual who Urena De Cruz knew was, in fact, not at home. The indictments further allege that Urena De Cruz acted with the intent to defraud New Hampshire Medicaid, and that she received over $1,500 in Medicaid funds in connection with the alleged scheme.

The maximum penalty on the Theft by Deception charge, a class A felony, is 7½ to 15 years in the New Hampshire State Prison and a $4,000.00 fine. The maximum penalty on the False Claims charge, a class B felony, is 3½ to 7 years in the New Hampshire State Prison and a $4,000.00 fine.

Urena De Cruz will be arraigned on the indictments in the Merrimack County Superior Court on a date to be determined. The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Thomas T. Worboys and Attorney Andrew T. Yourell of the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are prosecuting this case. Investigator Eric W. Shirley, also of the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, investigated this case.