Source: Office of United States Attorneys
BOSTON – A Westford woman was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a home health care fraud scheme.
Faith Newton, 56, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. to 12 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Newton was also ordered to pay a fine of $250,000 and restitution in the amount of $99,734,517.
In July 2024, Newton was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of health care fraud and three counts of money laundering. The jury found the defendant not guilty on one count of money laundering conspiracy. Newton was arrested and charged along with co-defendant Winnie Waruru in February 2021.
“Ms. Newton used the home health care agency she operated to perpetrate a massive, years-long fraud scheme that siphoned over $100 million from a program designed to support our most vulnerable residents. She used the stolen money to fund her lavish lifestyle, showing a callous disregard for those who were in dire need of care and assistance. Her actions not only defrauded taxpayers but also compromised the integrity of essential home health care services. The significant prison term imposed today reflects the seriousness of her crimes and the harm she caused to patients, providers, and the public,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Those who exploit vital health care programs like MassHealth for personal gain will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who prioritize greed over the well-being of others.”
“Faith Newton seemed to think she could execute a $100 million health care fraud scheme at the expense of American taxpayers and get away with it, but she was grossly mistaken,” said Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “HHS-OIG is committed to protecting taxpayer-funded health care programs from fraud and abuse, and our message is clear: those who exploit our nation’s health care system for personal gain will be caught, and justice will be served.”
“The sentencing of Faith Newton demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of all financial crimes that impact the citizens of the United States,” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Newton orchestrated an elaborate healthcare scheme, stealing at least $100 million from Medicaid and MassHealth with the sole purpose of funding her lavish lifestyle at the expense of the American taxpayers. Newton’s self-serving actions impacted the tens of thousands of U.S. citizens that depend on the finite funds that these government programs provide in order to obtain even the most basic of medical care.”
“Faith Newton betrayed the trust of her patients and their families when she used them as pawns in a massive $100 million home health care fraud scheme to fund her lavish lifestyle by paying kickbacks and billing for services she never provided, treatments that were not medically necessary, and visits by sham home health aides who were not certified or trained,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “It’s clear that the guiding principle here was greed. Anyone involved in, or entertaining, similar activity should know that health care fraud is a priority for the FBI, and we will pursue anyone trying to steal from this country’s vital health care system.”
From January 2013 to January 2017, Newton operated Arbor Homecare Services LLC. Newton and others engaged in a conspiracy to use Arbor to defraud MassHealth of at least $100 million.
Specifically, Arbor, through Newton and others, billed for home health services that were never provided. Co-conspirators were instructed by Newton to create and submit falsified copy-and-paste notes from nursing visits that did not happen. In addition, Arbor, through Newton and others, paid kickbacks for patient referrals, regardless of medical necessity. They also entered sham employment relationships with patients’ family members to provide home health aide services that were not medically necessary and routinely billed for fictitious visits that Newton knew did not occur. Newton and Arbor would flood clinics with Plans of Care that were not medically necessary, pressuring doctors to sign off.
At Newton’s direction, Arbor would submit false claims to MassHealth for services by HHA’s who were not trained and certified as required by law. Arbor never provided the required 75 hours of training to the people it hired. Newton covered up the lack of HHA training by forging training documents and giving hires sham exams along with answer keys.
In 2017, after learning that Mass Health had cut off Arbor, Newton cut herself and her husband each a $2 million dollar check from the Arbor payroll account. Newton backdated the checks to 2016 to make them appear as Christmas bonuses, when in fact, Newton wrote and negotiated the checks in January 2017.
Newton’s co-defendant, Waruru, pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy in September 2022. A sentencing date for Waruru has not yet been scheduled.
U.S. Attorney Foley; HHS SAC Coviello; IRS Acting SAC Demeo; and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William B. Brady and Christopher R. Looney of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Carol Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit prosecuted the case.