Former Colorado Springs Nursing Homes Business Manager Pleads Guilty To Theft

Denver-- Attorney General Ken Salazar's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has obtained felony theft pleas in two separate cases from the business manager of two Colorado Springs nursing homes accused of embezzling over $670,000 from the facilities.

On Friday, November 14, Judy Williamson, 51, pled guilty to one count of theft of $15,000 or more (class 3 felony) in each case (People v. Williamson, Case No. 03CR696, El Paso County District Court and People v. Williamson, Case No. 03CR1256, El Paso County District Court). Pursuant to the plea agreement, subject to the Court's determination, Ms. Williamson can receive a prison sentence of up to ten years. Restitution of $672,240 will also be ordered. Sentencing is scheduled for January 23, 2004.

Judy Williamson was employed as business manager at Mountain View from December 1998 to January 2002. As business manager, she had control of the petty cash account, the operating account and the personal needs account (containing patients' personal funds). She was accused of fraudulently making approximately 680 checks payable to petty cash on the operating account of Mountain View amounting to over $553,000. Williamson would in turn cash the checks at a local bank and keep the cash for her own use. She then posted them on Mountain View's books to various expense accounts as payments to vendors who supplied goods and services to Mountain View, resulting in an overstatement of expenses of over $553,000. The fraudulent accounting increased the cost report Mountain View submitted yearly to Medicaid to determine the reimbursement rate, thereby increasing the amount of money Medicaid paid to Mountain View.

Following the appointment of a new administrator, the State alleged Williamson switched from stealing from the operating accounts to stealing from the personal needs account, again by fraudulently making approximately 86 checks payable to petty cash on the personal needs accounting amounting to over $97,340.

The Attorney General's Office subsequently charged Judy Williamson in May 2003 with two counts of theft in connection with stealing approximately $21,000 from Life Care Centers of America. Williamson was employed as business office manager for Life Care between December 2002 and February 2003. Ms. Williamson received cash payments by cash and checks directly from relatives of Life Care's residents, endorsed the checks to herself, and deposited them in her personal bank account.