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City Beat
Attorney general launches criminal probe of Carmen Bolden and the mental health clinic.
Agents from the state attorney general’s office last week raided the Centro Ayuda Mental Health Clinic, shutting the place down for several hours.
And on Friday, Sept. 29, State Rep. Ben Ramos is scheduled to hold a press conference outlining the Latino community’s response to the scandal.
The AG’s Medicaid Fraud Section investigators, armed with subpoenas and search warrants, carted off several boxes of documents on Sept. 21 relating to payments the clinic received from the state.
In a report in last week’s City Paper, former employees alleged the clinic is bilking the state, providing shoddy treatment and that Carmen Bolden, who has claimed to be the clinic’s chief executive officer, misrepresented her role at the clinic to state officials.
“Acting Attorney General Walter Cohen is concerned by these allegations,” says AG spokesman Kevin Harley. “If true, they would appear to suggest criminal violations.”
The investigation centers on several issues.
One is whether Bolden lied to state officials by claiming to be only a consultant with the center. Bolden, who has twice been convicted for ripping off social service organizations, is prohibited by law from running Centro Ayuda. On documents filed with the state Office of Mental Health (OMH), Bolden’s husband James was listed at the CEO.
However, at least four former employees have told investigators that it was Carmen, not her husband, who runs the clinic.
Another area investigators are looking into is whether the clinic has defrauded the state by billing for clients either not seen or not seen for the duration reported. The four former employees have told investigators about a litany of Medicaid fraud allegedly perpetrated by Centro Ayuda. The investigators searched the offices last Thursday looking for records that would corroborate their stories.
Carmen Bolden, reached at the clinic by telephone on Tuesday, was chipper yet uncommunicative.
“I have no comment. If you have anything to say, say it to my lawyer,” said Bolden cheerfully, before slamming the phone down.
Her lawyer, Obra Kernodle, claims his client is a victim of “persecution.”
“They subpoenaed records,” says Kernodle. “This is not an unusual situation. We do not attach any importance, nor does there appear to be any substance to the inquiries raised.”
Bolden, says Kernodle, is merely a consultant. Her husband, he says, calls the shots at the clinic.
So why is the clinic being targeted by investigators?
“To me, this smacks of persecution,” he says. “On the one hand, people are railing about restitution. At the same time, they are taking umbrage of the fact that she is taking advantage of her prior history to make a living. They can’t have it both ways.”
Centro Ayuda is Bolden’s third social service agency. In 1979, she admitted stealing about $6,000 from the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations, which she helped found. She was placed on probation. In February, 1994, Bolden pleaded guilty to stealing $25,000 from another Latino service agency she helped form, Congreso de Latinos Unidos.
Bolden was sentenced to jail and served three months of a four-to-24-month sentence for her second offense. A month after she got out of jail, Centro Ayuda was awarded a license by OMH.
This past March, despite being informed about Bolden’s control of the clinic, OMH officials upgraded the clinic’s provisional license with a six-month full license that expired last week. OMH officials say they are investigating the clinic, and will decide next week whether they will renew its license.
As if she didn’t have enough troubles, Bolden faces a probation hearing next month for charges that she has failed to fully repay the $25,000 owed to Congreso as part of her sentencing agreement. Congreso officials say that Bolden has paid them only $500 of that debt so far.
AG spokesman Harley cautions that the investigation into Centro Ayuda will likely be lengthy.
“Because this is an investigation into Medicaid fraud, this will take our agents a little longer than, say, a normal drug investigation,” he says.
— Howard Altman
