Therapist bound over for trial
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A pre-trial conference was set for 2 p.m. on Aug. 14 before Lyon County District Judge Lee Fowler for a woman accused of bilking Medicaid for more than $150,000 in treatments for people suffering from traumatic brain injury.
Magistrate Judge Douglas Jones bound Vivian Mundy over for trial after a preliminary hearing that began at 2 p.m. and stretched until almost 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
After testimony from people involved in the investigation, defense attorney Thomas Haney asked the judge to dismiss at least 3 of the 8 counts against Mundy. She did not testify at the preliminary hearing.
Prosecutor Jabari Wambel of the Kansas Attorney General's office, called several witnesses who testified they had found contradictions in Mundy's billing records for her services to the Medicaid clients. Among allegations were that Mundy had submitted double billings, billings for time spent driving to clients' homes, and billing for services that she reported were done when prosecutors say she was shopping in another town.
Mundy, in interviews during the investigation, attributed some of the errors to sloppy record-keeping.
Haney said that 7 of the counts against his client should have been consolidated into 1 charge because they were duplicitous. Haney asked Jones to allow him to submit written arguments before the judge decided the issue.
After a 10-minute recess Jones said that Mundy would be bound over on all 8 counts listed in the complaint.
"I'm not going to make a ruling," Jones said in responding to Haney's request. "... The defendant will have various motions at her disposal" and those can be filed before the pre-trial conference.
Haney also said that recorded interviews and other evidence still had not been made available to the defense. The state must provide that evidence.
Mundy waived reading of the charges and the potential sentencings if she is convicted on any or all of the counts. She entered a not-guilty plea, which was accepted by Jones.
For details on the preliminary hearing, read Friday's Gazette in print or the online .pdf issue.
camerashy (anonymous) says...
The longer Mundy fights this the more damage she does to her current clients and employees. Let's pray no one else gets hurt and those who work for her who have some decency will make sure the clients get the help they need.
October 10, 2009 at 7:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )