NILES, Mich. — A Niles couple is facing multiple felony charges for alleged false claims through their counseling practice, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday.
Gregory Barney was charged with 22 counts of Medicaid fraud – false claim and his wife, Jacquelyn Barney, was charged with 17 counts of the same charge, according to a news release.
Each charge is a four-year felony.
Gregory is a licensed marriage and family counselor and the owner of Highland Counseling Center in Niles, where Jacquelyn is the office manager, administrator and biller.
Nessel’s office’s investigation showed that Jacquelyn also worked as a biller for a separate local medical office, and she’s accused of obtaining patient information from that practice and billing Medicaid for counseling sessions allegedly provided by Highland Counseling Center that Gregory never provided.
The clients were contacted during the investigation and told Nessel’s office they did not know Gregory Barney and were not counseled by him.
“Billing Medicaid for services never provided takes valuable public resources away from those who need it,” Nessel said. “My Health Care Fraud Division will continue to investigate and pursue allegations of fraud in this critical program.”
Jacquelyn and Gregory Barney were charged in the 54B District Court in Ingham County and were arrested Tuesday.
Their arraignments are scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 13 before Judge Richard Ball.
