A Calhoun County health official is facing criminal charges after he allegedly sent more than $500,000 to a psychic palm reader for "health consulting" services.From the we learn,
Ervin Brinker, 68, of Delton, has been charged with two counts of Medicaid fraud conspiracy and one count of embezzlement by a public officer, Attorney General Bill Schuette announced in a Wednesday press release.
Brinker was the CEO of Summit Pointe in Battle Creek until he was terminated in February. Summit Pointe is a community mental health authority, established by the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners.
Summit Pointe records show a total of $510,000 was dispersed in two separate contracts to pay a "health care consultant" in Key West, Fla. between May 2011 and November 2012, according to the news release.
An investigation by the Attorney General's office revealed that Brinker allegedly sent the money to a Key West psychic palm reader and her husband. Brinker signed the fraudulent contracts without consulting other employees, the AG's office alleges.
Tommy Eli of Key West was listed as a Summit Pointe contractor; his name was raised at the Feb. 17 meeting in which Brinker was fired.But through it all, it is not just an issue with the psychic as it appears there were other irregularities as well,
At the public hearing, Brinker through his lawyer repeatedly refused to ask questions about Eli, declining to speak unless he was assured the information wouldn't be used for potential criminal prosecution.
Summit Pointe's lawyers alleged illusory contract services, saying they were unable to confirm Eli had any professional credentials and that they only found a one-page document as proof of work.
But they did know this: Eli received $510,000 in payments from Summit Pointe. He billed the agency for more than 1,100 hours of work from October 2012 to April 2013, some of which were claimed in invoices to have been conducted in person at Summit Pointe's offices. The last payment — $265,000 — was sent by overnight courier to a Key West address, marked to the attention of Julie Davis.
The address is a psychic business. Davis is a psychic and tarot card reader, according to a business license filed with the city of Key West.
Summit Pointe's board fired Brinker for cause, alleging he created a defined-benefits pension plan without board approval and for his own personal benefit. Board members also said Brinker had "apparent and actual conflicts of interest" with some of the agency's vendors, and didn't competitively bid million-dollar contracts that were granted to vendors with whom he had outside business ties.Still disconcerting either way.
County health official sent $500,000 to psychic palm reader for consulting, AG says | MLive.com
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