Federal charges could yield life sentences for defendants in DeBrodie case

Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Wilson said on Tuesday that his office strategically avoided certain charges on the state level when he announced the grand jury indictment of two associates of the Second Chance home in Fulton.

“As part of our ongoing cooperation and discussion with federal prosecutors, I have agreed not to pursue certain state criminal charges against these defendants, as well as other suspects in the investigation, to avoid interference with any federal criminal charges related to health care fraud that may be brought by the U.S. Department of Justice,” said Wilson in the release.

The D.O.J. launched an arm of its criminal division in 2009 called the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team or “H.E.A.T.”

The unit focuses on the prosecution of specific crimes, including part of Title 18 that makes it illegal to defraud any health care benefit program.

Fraud contemplated by Title 18 may include a health care provider receiving money or benefits from the government intended for the care of the client, but not properly using such funds for that purpose.

If prosecutors prove that medical fraud resulted in the death of Carl DeBrodie, that defendant or defendants could face life in prison, according to the U.S. Code Chapter 18 Section 1347.

“If the violation results in serious bodily injury, such person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both; and if the violation results in death, such person shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both,” the section outlined.

Anyone who criminally conspires with the defendant could face the same punishment, according to another section.

In May 2017, ABC 17 News reported the case manager, Tiffany Keipp, and community RN for Carl Debrodie, Melissa Delap, were found to have been submitting false reports of the monthly, face-to-face visits required by the state for DeBrodie’s financial support.

Keipp and Delap are named in a civil lawsuit filed by Carolyn Summers.

ABC 17 News also uncovered financial records that showed Second Chance Homes received an average of $561,000 from the Department of Mental Health over a nine-year span, from 2009 to 2017.

The facility also received an average of $31,000 a year over the same time span from “consumer funds” which could include Social Security money or other personal money used to pay for Second Chance services.

It’s also alleged in the civil and criminal cases that Second Chance Home manager Sherry Paulo and Anthony Flores, Paulo’s husband and employee, failed to report DeBrodie’s death and filed a false missing person report on April 17, 2017, around 5 months after it actually happened.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Summers also alleges multiple civil rights violations, “as a direct and proximate result of these Defendants’ conduct, Carl [DeBrodie] suffered an untimely and premature death.”

Prosecutors proving that select defendants committed civil rights violations could also yield life-sentences.

According to the U.S. criminal code’s section on “Civil Rights Offenses Resulting in Death,” anyone who deprives a person of their constitutional rights with deadly results could face life in prison or the death penalty.

A federal prosecutor would have to prove that the defendant criminally deprived Carl DeBrodie of his constitutional rights, “and if death results from the acts committed, … [the defendant] shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death,” according to Title 18, U.S.C., Section 242.

Federal prosecutors have yet to file criminal charges in the case of Carl DeBrodie.

Full coverage of the case can be found by following this link.