San Antonio Sees Counselor Sentenced for Health Care Fraud
In a surprising turn of events, the vibrant city of San Antonio has been in the spotlight lately due to the case of licensed professional counselor, Kristen Elizabeth Mews. This 59-year-old woman found herself in serious trouble after pleading guilty to health care fraud, which is something that has caught many residents’ attention. Mews was sentenced to 20 months behind bars for billing Medicaid for treatment she never provided, and her story has been nothing short of shocking.
A Troubling History
Mews, originally from Kentucky, has quite a complicated history. Sadly, she wasn’t just in the spotlight for her profession; she has a record of arrests related to driving while impaired. Most recently, despite having been locked up in Bexar County jail in July 2018 for violating probation on a DWI conviction, Mews surprisingly continued to bill Medicaid for psychotherapy services that never took place.
According to court documents, she attempted to charge Medicaid at least $700,000 in fraudulent billings during this time and received around $350,000 before the fraud was revealed. It’s hard to digest that while in jail, Mews was still seeking payments for services she never delivered, trying to cash in on her patients even during her legal troubles.
Federal Court Appearance
Fast forward to Thursday’s federal court session in San Antonio, where Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Stephenson detailed the gravity of Mews’s actions. He revealed that around 80% of her earnings during that time were purely fraudulent, stating, “She could have been helping the kids that she claimed that she was helping, but she didn’t. She just took in the money.” This revelation added insult to an already serious matter.
Personal Struggles
During her sentencing, Mews’s lawyer, Roland Garcia, painted a picture of depth, explaining how her struggles with alcoholism contributed to her poor decisions. He touched on hardships in her life, including family tragedies, her battle with uterine cancer, and her struggle to stay afloat financially. Garcia mentioned that it was because of these circumstances that Mews took on the emotionally heavy job of counseling abused children, which, ironically, fed into her own trauma.
Facing the Consequences
As Mews sat in court, dressed in prison garb and shackles, her lawyer pleaded with the judge to consider the time she had already served. However, the reality was that Mews’s bond had been revoked just before the sentencing because she had violated conditions that required her to stay out of legal trouble and avoid alcohol. Just last month, she was caught behind the wheel with a blood alcohol concentration over the legal limit!
Judge Orlando Garcia made it clear that after her prison term, she would have another three years of supervised release, where she must comply with strict conditions, including abstaining from alcohol.
Health Care Fallout
The repercussions of Mews’s actions have echoed throughout the counseling community, particularly as individuals have come forward claiming they never received the services she billed for. Some patients even expressed they either did not know Mews or had only met with her outside the dates she claimed to have provided care.
Mews’s case raises critical questions about the integrity of health care providers and the essence of trust within the mental health community. It’s an alarming reminder that fraud doesn’t just hurt organizations; it ultimately affects the vulnerable clients who genuinely need help.
Conclusion
As Kristen Elizabeth Mews begins her prison sentence, the city of San Antonio and its residents are left to ponder the fallout from this troubling case. Health care fraud is no small offense, especially when it involves those who are supposed to be helping the most fragile in society. The need for vigilance and accountability in the health sector has never been clearer.
