MEDICARE SCANDAL Accused Canfield sisters get a court date

The indictment was handed up in January 2003.
CLEVELAND -- After almost two years, two Canfield sisters charged with a Medicare scandal that rocked the now-closed Youngstown Osteopathic Hospital have a court date.
Maryann Barnett, 66, of Tippecanoe Road and Patricia Macejko, 61, of Killdeer Drive are charged with conspiracy to defraud the government, Medicare fraud, false statements and money laundering.
At a status conference this week, U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan set a pretrial hearing for Dec. 17. No trial date was set.
James C. Lynch, an assistant U.S. attorney, had asked for the conference, saying the case has been pending for some time without any information of record as to the circumstances for continuing to hold in abeyance a trial date.
The indictment, handed up Jan. 9, 2003, included Richard B. White, 61, of Louisiana; Michael B. Suhadolnik, 48, of Chardon; and Raul Sanchez deVarona, 40, of Florida. They were charged with conspiracy to defraud the government, Medicare fraud, false statements and money laundering. White and Suhadolnik were also charged with wire fraud.
The fraud amounted to about $2.6 million, the government said. Youngstown Osteopathic Hospital, once located on the city's North Side, closed five years ago.
Before the March trial, Judge Gaughan agreed to sever the two Canfield sisters from the case. In a motion to sever, Barnett's Columbus lawyer said she had been diagnosed with cancer. A trial date was to be set when her health improved.
Also before trial, deVarona, an attorney, struck a plea agreement with the government.
The jury found White and Suhadolnik guilty. They will be sentenced Dec. 15.
Agreement
In January 1996, YOH hired White and entered into an agreement with White's Montrose Management, which was to provide financial management consulting services. White set up a network of companies designed to produce profits for the defendants, not YOH, the government said.
Five clinics in Florida set up by White paid him management fees, the government said.
The defendants used Pathways Center for Geriatric Psychiatry, located inside YOH, to defraud Medicare and diverted the Medicare funds to the Florida clinics, the government said.
White incorporated Pathways and gave ownership, in name only, to Barnett and Macejko. He actually controlled all the finances, the government said.