Crystal, Minnesota — The Crystal Police Department and the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are currently investigating three group homes in Crystal. There have been some serious allegations of mistreatment, as well as concerns about potential fraud.
Crystal has 90 group homes within its city limits, and police say Empathy Home Care-run homes receive more police calls than the rest combined.
Investigators from the Minnesota Department of Human Services paid a visit to Empathy Home Care in Crystal on Monday, following a raid last week on the company’s three group homes in the city.
“It drew our attention because we knew we were being called back to the same residence for the same issues,” said Assistant Crystal Police Chief Brian Hubbard.
Hubbard stated that their department received 452 service calls over a 14-month period, which he described as an astronomical number.
“Clearly would suggest there is a problem there somewhere,” according to him.
Crystal Police have previously been involved in maltreatment investigations.
According to state records, the Health Department substantiated two findings of maltreatment, one of which resulted in death in 2022. That case resulted in a wrongful death lawsuit, which was settled.
In addition to those cases, Hubbard reports that officers responded to the group home on Colorado Avenue in July for a woman who had overdosed.
He claims that 31-year-old Shaylah Brown died, and that the Empathy Home Care employee who worked that night did not attempt or receive CPR training.
“Certainly you would expect in a facility like that, you certainly would expect that they are going to attempt life-saving measures,” Hubbard told the audience. “I would argue that is part of what you’re paying these people to be able to do.”
In November, Empathy Home Care CEO Fatou Jallow signed an agreement with the state Board of Executives for Long-term Services and Supports to resign as an assisted living director while she appeals maltreatment findings.
According to multiple publicly filed search warrants, the Attorney General’s Office is involved in the latest investigation, which began after Crystal Police raised concerns about billing for Empathy Home Care, which receives approximately $6 million in Medicaid reimbursements each year.
“We believe that the company was billing for days when we know the individual wasn’t there – either because they had been reported as missing or were in a hospital facility,” Hubbard told reporters.
According to the search warrants, Shaylah Brown’s death is being investigated by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for possible criminal maltreatment.
Empathy’s owner, Fatou Jallow, declined to comment.