Former Haven Health Care Bookkeeper Arrested Again

The former bookkeeper for Haven Health Care who pleaded guilty to embezzling thousands of dollars from nursing home resident trust fund accounts has been arrested again.

She was charged on Monday for her alleged role in a scheme to present false evidence in a state court case.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Haven admitted a patient to its Jewett City nursing home in July 2007 without having him sign a document agreeing to pay any costs not covered by Medicare or other insurance.

After the man was discharged with about $36,000 in unpaid costs, Rutherford-Sylvia allegedly forged the man’s signature on a backdated collection document and then lied about that forgery when she testified in the Superior Court lawsuit Haven brought seeking to collect the money, the warrant states.

She was charged with perjury and second-degree forgery.

The arrest comes just weeks after she pleaded guilty to taking $53,000 from trust funds.

From 2005 to 2008, Serena Rutherford-Sylvia, 42, of Waterford, took more than $53,000 from nursing home resident trust fund accounts at Haven Health Center of Jewett City, Haven Health Center of Norwich, Haven Health Center of Waterford, and Haven Health Center of Soundview in West Haven, according to court documents.

Sylvia is scheduled to be sentenced in that case on March 28. She could face a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on the health care fraud count and a maximum term of imprisonment of three years and a fine of up to $100,000 on the false tax return count.

Anyone who suspects health care fraud is asked to report it by calling the Health Care Fraud Task Force at (203) 785-9270 or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.
 

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