Story Published:
Apr 15, 2008 at 4:02 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Apr 15, 2008 at 4:02 PM CDT
SPRINGFIELD -- The owner of a group home where 11 people died in a fire in November 2006 faces new federal charges along with his wife and daughter.
Federal prosecutors unveiled a new grand jury indictment that adds charges of money laundering and increases the counts of health care fraud against Robert Dupont of Joplin.
Prosecutors say Dupont ran the homes despite having a felony conviction that barred him from providing Medicaid services. He pleaded not guilty to the original indictment last year.
The new indictment also charges Dupont's wife LaVerne and daughter Kelley Wheeler. The indictment filed April 2 and unsealed Monday says all three conspired to run a network of group homes for the mentally ill in an illegal fashion and to launder the proceeds of Medicaid payments.
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Edited news release from U.S. attorney’s office:
SPRINGFIELD -- A nonprofit agency that operated five long-term residential care facilities in southwest Missouri and three family members involved in the agency have been indicted by a federal grand jury for health care fraud and money laundering.
Robert Dupont Jr., 63, his wife, Laverne Dupont, 72, and his daughter, Kelley Wheeler, also known as Kelley Liveoak, 45, all of Joplin, along with Joplin River of Life were charged in an 18-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a
federal grand jury in Springfield on April 2. The superseding indictment replaces a federal indictment that was filed against Robert Dupont on Oct. 16, 2007, and includes additional defendants and charges.
Here’s
what investigators and the grand jury believe:
- Robert Dupont, who was excluded from participating in any federal health care program as a result of a prior criminal conviction, nevertheless directed the operations of five long-term residential care facilities while he was in prison and after his release.
- Robert Dupont functioned as the ultimate decision-maker for Joplin River of Life, a nonprofit organization he founded shortly before serving his federal prison sentence. Laverne Dupont, who was ostensibly the executive director of Joplin River of Life, conspired with her husband to conceal his operation and control of the organization.
- The defendants also conspired to conceal the employment of Wheeler, who was excluded from receiving federal program payments to cover salary, expenses or fringe benefits because of her prior criminal conviction.
- Between Sept. 5, 2003, and Nov. 6, 2006, Joplin River of Life received about $725,125 in Medicaid funds that Robert Dupont controlled while he was excluded from participation in the Missouri Medicaid program. Between Aug. 20, 2004, and Oct. 5, 2006, Robert Dupont fraudulently received approximately $51,626 in wages paid by the Missouri Medicaid program to Joplin River of Life, although he was excluded from receiving such payments.
- From Aug. 20, 2003, to Dec. 6, 2004, Wheeler received approximately $33,075 in wages from Joplin River of Life that were fraudulently paid from the Missouri Medicaid program, when Wheeler was excluded from receiving such payments. Between Jan. 1, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2006, Laverne Dupont received about $170,000 in wages from Joplin River of Life.
In addition to the conspiracy, Robert and Laverne Dupont and Joplin River of Life are charged with one count of health care fraud. The indictment says the defendants executed a scheme to defraud the Missouri Medicaid program by concealing the
fact that principals in the operation of Joplin River of Life had been convicted of an offense related to the operation of a long-term health care facility, and that principals in the operation of Joplin River of Life were excluded from participation in Medicare or Medicaid programs.
The federal indictment also charges Robert Dupont, Kelley Wheeler and Joplin River of Life with participating in a money laundering conspiracy. From Feb. 13, 2002, to Sept. 20, 2007, the indictment says, they conspired to conduct financial transactions that involved the proceeds of health care fraud. The
indictment says those financial transactions were designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership and control of the proceeds of that unlawful activity.
Robert Dupont is also charged with 15 counts of money laundering, relating to financial transactions that involved the proceeds of health care fraud, or that were conducted to promote the health care fraud or to conceal who was controlling the
proceeds of the health care fraud.
According to the indictment, Robert Dupont pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 2002, for conspiring to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid federal health care programs. Wheeler was
found guilty on June 28, 2002, for submitting false applications for Medicaid benefits. As a result of Robert Dupont’s conviction, he was excluded from participating in any federal health care program, including the Missouri Medicaid program. As a result of Wheeler’s conviction, she was excluded from receiving federal program payments to cover salary, expenses or fringe benefits.
On March 5, 2002, the indictment says, Robert Dupont signed the articles of incorporation for Joplin River of Life, a not-for-profit corporation with himself and Laverne Dupont on the board of directors. On April 10, 2002, Robert Dupont leased the Anderson Guest House, Carl Junction Guest House, Guest House, Guest House II, and Guest House III facilities to Joplin River of Life, which was issued a state license
to operate the facilities.
On
Sept. 11, 2002, Joplin River of Life established a new board of directors, which did not include Robert Dupont. Annual registration reports that were submitted to the Missouri Secretary of State from 2003 to 2006 do not list Robert Dupont as an officer or a member of the board of directors. In submitting the required applications and documentation to the state Division of Medical Services in order to receive Medicaid funding, Joplin River of Life fraudulently affirmed no operator or principal of Joplin River of Life had been convicted of a
felony relating to the operation of a long-term care facility, or was under
exclusion from participation in the Medicaid program.
On Feb. 21, 2003, Robert Dupont was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and Wheeler was sentenced to six months in federal prison. Before surrendering himself to begin
serving that sentence, Robert Dupont convened and oversaw a Joplin River of Life board meeting on March 19, 2003, in which he announced that Laverne Dupont would become the executive director of the organization. But in the day-to-day operation of Joplin River of Life, the indictment says, Robert Dupont made unilateral hiring decisions, terminated employees, directed staffing levels, unilaterally decided whether to accept potential residents referred by local hospitals, prohibited facility managers from seeking authority from Laverne Dupont, and threatened to terminate employees who failed to seek his
authorization for decisions.
On Sept. 28, 2004, Robert Dupont was released into the community and placed on supervised release
for three years.
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Past KY3 News coverage of the fire and its aftermath
