Adult Day Care Provider Accused of $1.47 Million Missouri Medicaid Fraud

ST. LOUIS – An adult day care provider has been indicted and accused of defrauding Missouri Medicaid out of $1.47 million. Tony King, 63, was indicted July 22 on five counts of health care fraud. King turned himself in Thursday and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, where he pleaded not guilty. The indictment says King operated Agape Love Adult Day Care LLC, holding out the company as a provider in Missouri’s Adult Day Care Waiver (ADCW) program. That program provides for continuous care and supervision of older and disabled adults for up to 10 hours per day, five days a week to provide a community-based alternative to those who might otherwise be placed in a nursing facility. The Missouri Medicaid Program reimburses for ADCW services including planned group activities, food service and transportation. The indictment says King submitted false claims for reimbursement to Missouri Medicaid for services that were never provided. King falsely claimed that Agape provided 10 hours of care per day when the company only provided half that amount, the indictment says. King also submitted claims for providing day care services to patients that were either not present at Agape or were hospitalized. The indictment says that King submitted a total of $1.47 million in false claims from at least as early as February 2021 through March 2026. King, formerly of St. Louis County, now lives in Georgia. Health care fraud is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. Restitution is mandatory. Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin Schute is prosecuting the case.