Former Golden Valley Business Owner Sentenced For Identity Theft

The former owner of a Golden Valley home health care business was sentenced last week to two years in prison.

Mustafa Hassan Mussa, age 57, of Minnetonka . He formerly owned Universal Home Health.

"In his plea agreement, Mussa admitted that on May 26, 2009, he knowingly caused fraudulent billings to be submitted to Medicaid," according to a news release from Jeanne F. Cooney, director of community relations for the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office. The claims, to DHS, "indicated that a personal care attendant (PCA) was providing service to a Medicaid recipient when, in fact, the PCA was not doing so."

"The U.S. recovered more than $700,000 to be returned to the Medicaid program in connection with this matter," according to the news release.

Rondestvedt pleaded guilty in September and in December was sentenced to 15 months in prison on one count of health care fraud. "In addition, he was ordered to pay $55,802.12 in restitution," according to Cooney.

"In his plea agreement, Rondestvedt admitted that from Feb. 18, 2008, through December 2010, he defrauded Medicaid by submitting false reimbursement claims for personal care services," according to the news release. "Rondestvedt agreed to provide and facilitate kickback payments to the family of a Medicaid recipient who did not actually receive the personal care services for which Universal billed Medicaid."