A Cedar Rapids man, who owns a healthcare company that provided home healthcare to veterans, is accused of bilking a veterans care program of more than $350,000, which he used to pay off sports gambling debts and other personal expenses.
Jacob Hughes, 35, owner of Hughes Home Care Inc. and Synergy HomeCare in Cedar Rapids, was indicted last week in U.S. District Court on 10 counts of healthcare fraud. The charges are part of a 2026 Department of Justice “National Health Care Fraud Takedown,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The national operation included schemes to defraud the Veterans Community Care Program and Hughes.
Hughes and others are accused of defrauding the veterans program, Medicare and Tricare by submitting claims for home healthcare services not actually provided and to receive payments from Medicare based on false invoices, U.S. Attorney Leif Olson said in a news release.
According to the indictment, Hughes and Synergy submitted claims for home healthcare services not actually provided to older and infirm veterans, including claims for services purportedly provided to one veteran who died. The veteran died June 29, 2024, but on July 11, 2024, Synergy submitted two fraudulent claims for care provided July 1 — two days after his death.
Another example, included in the indictment, was a veteran suffering from Alzheimer’s who required respite care. Fraudulent claims were allegedly submitted for 24 hours of home health aide care and two hours of...
Acting Cebu City Prosecutor Jo-ana Marie Desuyo charged Cebu-based businessman Mark Y. Yu with perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code over false statements in an affidavit accusing t...