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US, Illinois sue owners of youth counseling center for fraud

CHICAGO (AP) - The federal government and the state of Illinois have filed a lawsuit accusing a suburban Chicago youth counseling center of defrauding Medicaid of millions of dollars.

The lawsuit alleges Laynie Foundation Inc. and owners Summer Matheson and Terrence Ewing fraudulently billed Medicaid for more mental health counseling services than the organization provided.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court also alleges Matheson and Ewing directed the foundation to seek Medicaid payments for non-reimbursable activities such as internal case reviews, staff training and record keeping.

From January 2012 through February 2016, the Laynie Foundation submitted approximately $8.2 million in claims for purported mental health services. The foundation received approximately $6.3 million for these claims, the lawsuit contends.

Efforts Wednesday to reach Laynie Foundation officials for comment were unsuccessful. A message said the foundation's telephone number was temporarily out of order.

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