A Missouri mother has pleaded guilty to health care fraud after investigators found she used her own phone to clock her daughter in and out for Medicaid-funded personal care while the daughter was incarcerated.
Melissa Bates participated in the scheme with her daughter, Dajah Sanders, through Missouri Medicaid’s Consumer-Directed Personal Care Program, according to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Bates was the Medicaid recipient, while Sanders was the personal care attendant whose services were billed to the program.
Sanders was incarcerated at the St. Louis County Justice Center from Sept. 10 through Sept. 20, 2022. The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit said Bates used her own phone to make it appear Sanders was providing personal care services during that period, allowing her daughter to receive payments for work she could not have performed from jail.
Bates pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud, a Class D felony. She received a suspended imposition of sentence and five years of unsupervised probation, along with restitution, damages and a civil penalty totaling $3,299.51.
Her Daughter Was in Jail While the Care Hours Were Submitted
During Sanders’ incarceration, Bates reported to Missouri Medicaid that she had received personal care services on eight separate days, averaging approximately four hours per day.
The Attorney General’s Office said seven false claims were ultimately submitted for services attributed to Sanders while she was incarcerated and unable to provide the care.
Those claims caused a total loss of $533.01 to Missouri Medicaid. The state held Bates and Sanders responsible for half of the restitution amount each.
The Attorney General’s Office distinguishes between eight days on which Bates reported receiving care and seven false claims that were ultimately submitted for payment.
Bank Records Pointed Investigators to a Check-Splitting Arrangement
A Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigator reviewed bank-account deposits and withdrawals associated with Bates and Sanders and concluded that the mother and daughter were engaged in what the Attorney General’s Office described as check-splitting.
In such an arrangement, a Medicaid recipient and personal care attendant work together to submit claims for services that were not actually provided and then divide the money generated by those claims.
Bates was ordered to pay $266.50 in restitution, representing half of the Medicaid loss, along with $533.01 in double damages and a $2,500 civil penalty. The three amounts total $3,299.51.
Sanders Had Already Pleaded Guilty in the Same Scheme
Sanders pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud before her mother’s case was resolved. She was sentenced Nov. 24, 2025, according to the Attorney General’s later announcement.
The office first publicly announced Sanders’ conviction in January 2026. Like Bates, Sanders was ordered to pay $266.50 in restitution, $533.01 in double damages and a $2,500 civil penalty, for a total of $3,299.51.
The Department of Health and Senior Services’ Office of Special Investigations referred the case, and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Investigator Stefan Boeckman conducted the investigation. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General also lists the Bates case among state Medicaid fraud enforcement actions.
Missouri’s Program Requires Participants to Monitor Care Records
Missouri’s Consumer-Directed Services program allows eligible participants who can direct their own care to select personal care attendants to assist them at home. A participating provider processes payroll to the person providing the services on the participant’s behalf.
State program rules make the participant responsible for supervising the personal care attendant, verifying wages and monitoring proper use of Electronic Visit Verification, the system used to document qualifying home- and community-based services.
In the Bates investigation, the Attorney General’s Office said Bates used her own phone to clock Sanders in and out as if those services were being performed while Sanders was incarcerated.
False Medicaid Claims Can Be Charged as a Class D Felony
Bates and Sanders each pleaded guilty under Missouri Revised Statutes Section 191.905.1, which prohibits a health care provider from knowingly making or causing a false material statement in order to receive a health care payment.
A first conviction for conduct covered by that portion of the statute is classified as a Class D felony. Missouri law also provides for restitution and other financial remedies in health care fraud cases.
The Attorney General’s Office said Bates received a suspended imposition of sentence in addition to five years of unsupervised probation and the $3,299.51 financial obligation.