MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nakita Cannady, a Memphis woman, was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for her role in healthcare fraud and for defrauding the COVID-19 Relief Program, as announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to the DOJ, Cannady, 49, owned and operated What About Us In-Home Healthcare. Between May 2017 and December 2019, she falsely billed Cigna Insurance for 24-hour-a-day home healthcare services, even though her patients received only eight to twelve hours of care. The judge ordered Cannady to pay $193,508 in restitution to Cigna for her fraudulent claims.
In addition to the healthcare fraud, Cannady was convicted for submitting six fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) between June 2020 and April 2021. These applications were for multiple businesses, including What About Us Childcare, What About Us Foundation, What About Us Adult Daycare, and What About Us In-Home Healthcare. The DOJ said that Cannady included false information in the applications, including dates of operation, gross revenue, costs of goods sold, number of employees, and payroll figures.
As a result of her actions, the judge also ordered Cannady to pay $346,882 in restitution to the Small Business Administration (SBA), which administers the PPP and EIDL programs.
The sentencing serves as a reminder of the federal government’s efforts to combat fraud related to the pandemic relief programs and the healthcare industry.
