A relatively new state legal team targeting providers that neglect or abuse elderly and disabled people has notched two criminal plea deals in the last few weeks.
On Wednesday, Sept. 4, in-home caregiver Tara Saunders pleaded guilty in Linn County to a felony count of first-degree criminal mistreatment and was sentenced to three days in jail as well as 36 months of supervised probation. As part of her deal, she agreed to no longer work as a paid caregiver.
On Aug. 12, a registered nurse named Phyllis Dodds pleaded guilty in Klamath County to the same felony charge, agreeing to three years of probation, no longer working as a caregiver, and to perform 150 hours of community service. The 75-year-old employee of Pacifica Senior Care in Klamath Falls was accused of neglecting and mistreating three patients, one of whom died.
Both were prosecuted by a relatively new team within the Medicaid Fraud Unit of the Oregon Department of Justice. State fraud units typically make headlines about billing and claims fraud or multistate investigations targeting corporations.
Since 2023, however, a specialty team within the Oregon fraud unit has been investigating and prosecuting cases of abuse and neglect of elderly and the disabled that involve care funded by Medicaid.
Having a team “laser-focused” on abuse and neglect “has been a game-changer,” Sheen Wu, director of the Medicaid Fraud Unit, told The Lund Report.
The new team tackles a slice of a growing caseload involving the federal program that funds long-term care as well as the Oregon Health Plan for low-income people.
Since 2022 the number of cases referred to the Oregon fraud unit has jumped to an all-time high, climbing from 302 two years ago to 385 last year. Referrals so far this year suggest a new record of more than 400 lies ahead.
The new team’s outreach has drawn some of those cases. Referrals come from agencies that include local and federal law enforcement, the Oregon Health Authority, the state Long-Term Care Ombudsman, regulatory boards and individual tipsters.
The Dodds case, for example, was referred by state Adult Protective Services. Her employer, Pacifica — part of a San Diego—based private equity firm —did not respond to a request for comment.
The unit has successfully prosecuted five other individuals as well.
Late last year, the unit inked a civil settlement with Caring Places Management, LLC, which operates Hawthorne House Memory Care in Forest Grove and South Beach Manor Memory Care in Newport for failure to protect its residents — one of whom wandered away and drowned, the other of whom was sexually abused.
Wu credited the background of the team assembled. It consists of Senior Assistant Attorney General Dan Reesor and a criminal detective, Dave Hawley, both of whom have experience in elder abuse cases, as well as a former state nursing board investigator, Wendy Bigelow.
Sometimes working with the team is a civil litigator, John Rothermich, who pursues non-criminal remedies such as fines, restitution and court-appointed independent monitors to ensure compliance.
“Their experience, dedication and passion has been inspirational, and it is not hyperbole to say that they have already saved lives,” Wu said.
In the last decade Oregon’s fraud unit has obtained more than 250 criminal convictions and recouped more than $84 million, according to the state.
People wishing to report Medicaid provider fraud should email [email protected].
To report abuse or neglect, they can call the Oregon abuse reporting hotline: 1.855.503.SAFE (7233). If someone is in danger or being hurt, the unit asks that you call 911.
