NORFOLK, Va. – Whitteney Guyton, a 43-year-old resident of Suffolk, pled guilty yesterday to one count of healthcare fraud and six counts of making false statements related to healthcare matters, marking the end of a scheme that defrauded the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) of over $1.3 million.
Guyton, who owned and operated Synergy Health Systems LLC, submitted falsified and incomplete records to Medicaid from June 2016 through October 2018. Synergy offered both personal care and respite care, as well as mental health skill-building services (MHSS) to patients covered by Medicaid. These services required proper assessments by licensed professionals to ensure compliance with Medicaid regulations. However, court documents revealed that Guyton’s company failed to meet these basic requirements, leading to fraudulent claims.
For a time, Synergy employed a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) to handle the necessary assessments. But from July 2017 until October 2018, Guyton lacked a qualified professional to conduct these evaluations. Rather than halt services, Guyton directed her staff to forge the original LCSW’s signature on documents. This deception allowed her to bill Medicaid for services purportedly provided to over 35 patients, resulting in over $740,000 in fraudulent payments.
The fraud extended beyond mental health services. Guyton and her company also forged the signature of a registered nurse on documents related to personal care and respite services, leading to another $50,000 in fraudulent claims. Additionally, Synergy billed Medicaid over $480,000 for patients without any assessment documentation or when patients were in hospitals or other care settings, where Synergy’s services were not provided.
Altogether, these schemes resulted in an illegal gain of approximately $1,320,088.
Guyton is scheduled to be sentenced on January 10, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. However, actual sentences for federal crimes are often less than the maximum, as the final decision will be made by a federal district court judge, who will consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other relevant factors.