Woman Convicted of Two Felonies for Violations of the Medicaid False Claims Act and Public Assistance Fraud

June 6, 2025

Salt Lake City – On Monday, May 12, 2025, Deaun Larson Holdaway was sentenced to two concurrent prison terms by Judge Parker in the Third District Court. Holdaway pleaded guilty to one count of False Claims for Medical Benefits, in violation of Utah Code §26B-3-1106(1)(a) and (c), a second-degree felony, and one count of Public Assistance Fraud, in violation of Utah Code §76-8-1203, a third-degree felony. For her criminal acts, Holdaway was sentenced to an indeterminate term of not less than one year nor more than fifteen years in the State Prison. Holdaway was also sentenced to a term of one to five years in the Utah State Prison for the Public Assistance Fraud, which will run concurrently. A restitution hearing is scheduled for July 21, 2025.

In February 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services, Licensing Division, referred a case to the Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Division (Medicaid Fraud Division) at the Utah Attorney General’s Office including allegations that a Medicaid provider, Measures of Affect Theoretically Relative (MATR), had submitted claims to Medicaid for services which were not provided by qualified professionals and were documented in a fraudulent manner. MATR was a behavioral health company offering substance use disorder treatment. MATR had a residential treatment center in Mt. Pleasant and multiple offices in other areas of the State.

Holdaway, along with two other individuals, was responsible for submitting claims to Medicaid for services allegedly provided in all MATR locations. In total, over 7,700 claims were submitted to Medicaid throughout the period of March 11, 2019, through June 8, 2022, resulting in Medicaid funds in the amount of over $12.9 million being paid to MATR. None of these services would have been paid if the Utah Medicaid program had known that services had been provided by unqualified individuals and that falsified information had been entered into medical records, by Holdaway and others.

The Medicaid Fraud Division’s investigation also identified evidence of public assistance fraud. Records demonstrated that Holdaway received public assistance benefits for herself by failing to properly report her employment and income from MATR. Holdaway assisted others to also commit public assistance fraud. From September 2016, through February 2020, Holdaway received benefits in the form of SNAP, Special Payments, Financial Assistance, and/or Medical Assistance. In reality, Holdaway was the third highest paid worker at MATR, receiving compensation of over $1.36 million from January 2019, through August 2022. The Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Division of the Utah Attorney General’s Office filed charges against Holdaway in March 2024.

Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides health coverage for low-income individuals and families. Medicaid is funded by a partnership between the federal government and state governments, primarily using taxpayer dollars. When asked about the effect of Medicaid fraud on the State of Utah, Kaye Lynn Wootton, Director of the Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Division, stated, “Protecting the Medicaid program against fraud is critical given the limited resources available to provide care for this needy population. When fraudsters cause false claims to be paid by Medicaid, that reduces resources available to provide care to those who desperately need services. Often, as in this case, Medicaid fraud also means that although services were paid, the Medicaid patients who needed the services were neglected and went without the care they needed.”

Kaye Lynn Wootton and her team of investigators, auditors, nurses, attorneys, paralegals and support staff work diligently to hold those who commit Medicaid fraud accountable and to investigate and prosecute the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable individuals. This mission would not be possible without the work of numerous State and Federal partners. This case required support from policy experts at DHHS, federal agents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, investigators from DWS and the Assistant Attorney Generals who support them, and ongoing support from the Utah Medicaid program (Division of Integrated Healthcare), and the Utah Office of Inspector General of Medicaid Services.

The Medicaid Fraud and Patient Abuse Division of the Utah Attorney General’s Office receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $3,925,631 for federal fiscal year 2025. The State of Utah funds the remaining 25 percent.