Michigan Woman Convicted of $1.4M Health Care Kickback Scheme

A Michigan woman was convicted today for her role in a conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive illegal health care kickbacks.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mary Smettler-Bolton, 71, of Oakland County, referred Medicare beneficiaries to several Metro Detroit home health companies in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks paid by the owners and operators of the home health companies. Over the course of four years, Smettler-Bolton and her co-conspirators caused over $1.4 million of loss to Medicare.

Smettler-Bolton was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive illegal health care kickbacks and one count of violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 3, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy count and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the kickback count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the FBI Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto 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 Ryan Elsey and Assistant Chief Shankar Ramamurthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.