Operators of Home Health Aide Schools Plead Guilty To Falsifying Credentials

The operators of two certification schools for home health aides have pleaded guilty for their roles in providing false credentials to hundreds of aides, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday.

Laurette Escarment, 60, of the On Time Home Care Agency in Queens and Mary Smalls, 75, of Smalls Training and Counseling School in Brooklyn, both pleaded guilty to grand larceny. Each woman could face several years in prison.

Starting in 2003, the Attorney General said the women accepted fees ranging from $300 to $400 in exchange for certificates signaling the completion of a training course required for home health aides.

Yesterday's pleas are part of a larger investigation spearheaded by Mr. Cuomo's office into widespread Medicaid fraud in the home care industry.