Prosecutors allege St. George man providing services to at-risk kids falsely billed for services

Washington County Courthouse, St. George, Utah, June 16, 2017 | Photo by Joseph Witham, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – The owner of a St. George company whose mission it is to help juveniles caught up in the courts is now facing charges for falsely billing the state.

The Utah State Attorney General’s Office filed charges against Michael James Blomquist in 5th District Court Thursday for four second-degree felonies including three counts of false claims for medical benefits and engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity.

Blomquist is the owner of Xcel Youth Services, a company that provides proctor care services to juveniles. Among the services provided were mental health counseling. Xcel is contracted with the Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Juvenile Justice Services, and Division of Child and Family Services, according to court records.

According to the charging documents in the case, from about June 1, 2013, through Sept. 26, 2016, Blomquist “forged and altered therapy notes and billed the Medicaid program for therapy services that were not provided or which contained materially false information pertaining to the services rendered.”

Audits of client records allegedly found “signatures that did not appear accurate, as well as with the billings submitted by the defendant for reimbursement.”

The charges are based on three juveniles whom Blomquist submitted claims for each totaling more than $5,000. However, prosecutors say that “the scope of the falsified records and false claims pertained to numerous clients,” not just the three referenced in court documents.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @tracie_sullivan

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

 

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1 Comment

  • karensg August 20, 2017 at 3:52 am

    I wonder how the audit was instigated?

    re:
    “Audits of client records allegedly found ‘signatures that did not appear accurate, as well as with the billings submitted by the defendant for reimbursement.’ “

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