Jeanerette Mayor Aprill Foulcard, her brother Iberia Parish Councilman Berwick Francis, their sister Antigone Anthony and their mother Jacqueline Francis have turned themselves in this morning to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.
All four have now been booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison with racketeering, conspiracy, Medicaid fraud and money laundering.
The four were expected to turn themselves in on Friday afternoon, but records show they all were booked today. They were booked on warrants issued with an indictment that was delivered by an East Baton Rouge Parish grand jury last week against the four family members and their company, JABA Enterprises
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Jeanerette Mayor Aprill Foulcard, Iberia Parish Councilman Berwick Francis and other family members were indicted Thursday in a Baton Rouge court for racketeering and Medicaid fraud.
The family company, JABA Enterprises, also was named in the indictment.
The indictments were expected, following investigations by the state Department of Health into JABA Enterprises. To read our story about that, click here.
An arrest warrant has been issued for the arrest of Foulcard, for Francis, who is her brother, for their sister, Antigone Anthony and for their mother Jacqueline Francis, East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court records.
A New Iberia attorney who has represented JABA in the past tells KATC that the defendants have been "extended the courtesy" of turning themselves in to police, and that they are going to do that. A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s office confirmed that the defendants are being allowed to turn themselves in.
Foulcard, 47, was indicted on the following charges:
- Racketeering
- Conspiracy to commit racketeering
- Medicaid Fraud
- Conspiracy to commit Medicaid Fraud
- Filing False Public Records
- Money laundering
- Conspiracy to commit forgery
JABA Enterprises was indicted on these charges:
- Racketeering
- Conspiracy to commit racketeering
- Medicaid Fraud
- Conspiracy to commit Medicaid Fraud
- Filing False Public Records
- Money laundering
- Conspiracy to commit forgery
Antigone Anthony, 46, Berwick Francis, 40, and Jacqueline Francis, 69, were all indicted on these charges:
- Racketeering
- Conspiracy to commit racketeering
- Medicaid Fraud
- Conspiracy to commit Medicaid Fraud
- Filing False Public Records
- Money laundering
- Conspiracy to commit forgery
Wanner Colbert was indicted on three counts of felony Medicaid fraud, and Adriane Williams was indicted on two counts felony Medicaid fraud.
The indictments allege that the crimes took place between 2012 and 2018.
If convicted on all charges, Foulcard, Francis, Francis and Anthony face up to 142 years in prison and fines of up to $1.6 million. If convicted on all charges, they each face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison – five of those years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
If convicted, Colbert and Williams face up to five years in prison and up to $20,000 in fines.
In February, the state Legislative Auditor released his investigation of JABA. The indictments filed today, while slim on details, do seem to mirror the findings of that investigation.
The auditors found that employees had recorded nearly 800 hours they didn’t work; that JABA submitted more than $1 million in bills directly to Medicaid instead of to the state as required; and that documentation for many long-time patients was inadequate or nonexistent. To read the entire audit, scroll down.
During a four-year period between January 2012 and June 2016, JABA submitted more than 275,000 claims to the state for reimbursement under Medicaid, totaling more than $18 million. Almost 20 percent of those claims, totaling about $2.6 million, were rejected. That is a high rate of rejection, and that is what triggered the audit, the auditors wrote.
Another investigation has been conducted by the state Department of Health, which subsequently began moving this spring to shut JABA down.
The department issued a letter to JABA, excluding them from participation in the state’s Medicaid program; the department is terminating its agreement with JABA; and the state will not renew JABA’s license when it comes up for renewal next month. To read that story, click here.
Last summer, state Medicaid Fraud investigators arrested seven JABA employees. To read those stories, click here and here.
Attorney General Jeff Landry issued the following statement on the case:
Today, a grand jury in the 19th JDC returned indictments against JABA Enterprises on multiple charges of Medicaid Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Medicaid Fraud, Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering, Conspiracy to Commit Forgery, Money Laundering, and Filing and Maintaining False Public Records. The indictments were against JABA Enterprises as a whole, the company’s four owners, and two others. As in any criminal matter, our office will not comment on the proceedings of a case other than to say we stand ready to fulfill our prosecutorial obligations in these matters.
