State v. Woods

• Citation: 328 So.3d 434
• Decision Date: 04 June 2021
• Docket Number: NO. 2019 KA 1141,2019 KA 1141
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Dynetta Hadrick WOODS
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana (US)

328 So.3d 434

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Dynetta Hadrick WOODS

NO. 2019 KA 1141

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

Judgment Rendered: JUNE 04, 2021

Jeff Landry, Louisiana Attorney General, Tasha K. Stockwell, Assistant Attorney General, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Attorneys for the State of Louisiana

A. Gregory Rome, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and La'Deisha Woods, Port Allen, Louisiana, Attorneys for Defendant-Appellant, Dynetta Hadrick Woods

BEFORE: THERIOT, WOLFE, AND HESTER, JJ.

WOLFE, J.

The defendant, Dynetta Hadrick Woods, was charged by grand jury indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit forgery (count I), a violation of La. R.S. 14:26 & 14:72 ; and nineteen counts of forgery (counts II - XX), violations of La. R.S. 14:72.¹ Following a jury trial, she was found guilty as charged on all counts. On

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count I, she was sentenced to five years at hard labor and fined $2500. On counts II - XX, she was sentenced on each count, to five years at hard labor and fined $2500, with the sentences to run concurrently with each other, but consecutively to count I. All sentences were suspended and she was placed on supervised probation for five years subject to payment of $54,729.72 restitution. Following a hearing, the court found the defendant to be indigent.² Thereafter, following another hearing, the court modified the restitution obligation by ordering the defendant to pay $10,000 restitution for the expenses of prosecution by the Attorney General's Office³ and zero restitution to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH). The State moved for reconsideration of sentence, but the motion was denied. The defendant now appeals challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, claiming the trial court failed to review the record before denying post-trial motions and imposing sentence, and challenging the record as incomplete for review. The State appeals challenging the modification of restitution. See La. Code Crim. P. art. 881.2(B)(2). For the following reasons, we affirm the convictions, affirm the sentences in part, and vacate the modification of restitution.

FACTS

In 2004, Dwaine Joseph Woods, Sr., founded Millennium Health Care Services (Millennium), which did business as Millennium PCA (personal care assistance) Services, LLC. He listed himself as the president of Millennium, and the defendant, his wife, as the secretary of the company. Millennium provided personal care services, with the majority of its business involving services billed to Medicaid. Between 2006 and 2010, Millennium billed Medicaid approximately $7,000,000.

Terry Cooper, an R.N. for DHH since 1984, testified during the trial. In 2006, she was the R.N. manager over nursing homes and immediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled, as well as home and community based services. She indicated that in 2005, the legislature transferred licensing authority for home and community based programs to DHH, which already controlled Medicaid enrollment. She testified that in November of 2006, DHH promulgated a rule requiring direct service workers to be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic first aid within forty-five days of hire. Cooper said that in 2012, the requirement was removed from DHH regulations. According to Cooper, it would be fraud to give DHH a fake CPR card as proof of training.

Pamela Moseley, who worked in program integrity/Medicaid fraud and health standards prior to her retirement from

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DHH in 2011, also testified at the trial. She acknowledged that in 2006, direct service workers were required to have CPR training. DHH would check for compliance with the CPR training requirement by examining the personnel files of direct service workers to see if they contained an original or a photocopy of a CPR card.

Melissa Landrum Rohner testified at trial. In August of 2009, she had planned to work for Extended Family, a personal care assistance program operated by Stacy Baptiste. However, Baptiste "[pled] out for Medicaid fraud" and shut down the business. Baptiste referred Rohner to the defendant and Dwaine Woods. Thereafter, Rohner was hired as a regional director for Millennium. Some of the former clients of Extended Family transferred to Millennium.

Rohner identified a copy of a CPR First Aid card with her name on it. According to Rohner, Dwaine Woods gave her the original CPR First Aid card. The card indicated Rohner received CPR First Aid training on October 13, 2009. Rohner testified she did not receive CPR First Aid training on October 13, 2009. Rohner told Dwaine Woods that she "did not take this class" when he handed her the card. He told her "the card was for [her]."

Dwaine Woods also gave Rohner CPR First Aid cards for other employees of Millennium and instructed her to make copies of the cards, distribute the originals to the employees, and file the copies in their files. Due to her familiarity with another employee's time sheets, Rohner was also aware of at least one other CPR First Aid card that was issued to an employee who had not received training. Because of her past experience at Extended Family, Rohner was concerned about getting "wrapped up" in any dishonest activity. When she noticed "things that started to not make sense" in regard to billing, she emailed Dwaine Woods, specifically advising him that "things were getting billed for hours that people were not working." Rohner emailed rather than telephoned because Dwaine Woods and the defendant were on a cruise, and Rohner did not think she would be able to contact him by telephone.

According to Rohner, during the last week of November 2009, Dwaine Woods called her. Rohner told Dwaine Woods "what [was] going on." Based on the tone of Dwaine Woods’ voice and the way he responded to her, Rohner realized he "had something to do with [the irregularities]." Approximately one hour later, another employee of Millennium seized Rohner's computer and removed it from her office. Rohner gathered her belongings and left Millennium.

Rohner subsequently notified the Medicaid fraud department at DHH, the company that billed for Medicaid, and Louis Hicks with the American Red Cross, that there were a "multitude" of American Red Cross CPR First Aid cards that had been given out to employees even though they had not attended the CPR First Aid classes. Rohner admitted she was arrested on January 10, 2010, and convicted on July 8, 2010, for possession of crystal methamphetamine.

Jamaal Ellis Fletcher testified at trial. He was the defendant's cousin and had "been knowing her just about all [his] life." Additionally, the defendant's brother, Regis Hadrick, was Fletcher's business partner, former roommate, and one of his best friends. Fletcher also knew Dwaine Woods. Prior to trial, Fletcher pled guilty to conspiracy to commit forgery. According to Fletcher, he conspired with Millennium, the defendant, and Dwaine Woods to create false CPR cards.

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Fletcher indicated that between August of 2009 and December of 2009, Millennium was a personal care service, and "around that time," he was certified by the Red Cross as a CPR/First Aid instructor. Fletcher had previously been paid for teaching Red Cross training classes that he had not actually taught.

Fletcher was unaware of the exact date, but in approximately October of 2009, he was contacted by the defendant. She told him she needed some cards "done" and "needed them done fast." The defendant told Fletcher she would fax the names to him, and he subsequently received a fax from Millennium with a list of the names for the CPR cards. The defendant made no inquiry about Fletcher's availability to teach the CPR class. Fletcher stated, "I know [the Red Cross] wanted the class to be taught. I chose not to teach it." Fletcher did not agree, however, that the defendant wanted the class to be taught. He indicated, while the defendant did not specifically instruct him to "forge CPR cards and provide them to Millennium[,]" that is what was "perfectly understood[.]" Fletcher testified he "might have asked for the names," but he did not know who worked at Millennium and would not have known which names to put on the CPR cards unless they were provided to him. Fletcher wrote up the CPR cards and submitted them to the Red Cross.

In December of 2009, Louis Hicks of the Red Cross called Fletcher. Fletcher could not remember the exact phrasing but testified that Hicks either told Fletcher that the cards "weren't right," or that Fletcher did not teach the class and someone had "called in on it." Fletcher called the defendant and told her about the call, stating that "[the Red Cross] caught up with it" or "[the Red Cross] caught us." Less than ten minutes later, Dwaine Woods called Fletcher. Fletcher testified, "[Dwaine Woods] wanted to know what was going on and I let him know." Dwaine Woods told Fletcher, "don't worry about [it]. He was going to handle it." Dwaine Woods also told Fletcher to tell Hicks that Fletcher had in fact taught the class.

Thereafter, Fletcher went to the Red Cross and talked to Hicks. In accordance with Dwaine Woods’ instructions, Fletcher lied to Hicks and told him that he taught the class referenced in the CPR cards. Hicks...