The owner of a group home where 11 people died in a 2006 fire was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and health care fraud in an indictment that also names his wife and daughter.
The indictment unsealed Monday against Robert DuPont and his family replaces one in which the 63-year-old pleaded not guilty to one count of health care fraud. His attorney Stuart Huffman said DuPont plans to plead not guilty to the new charges.
DuPont is accused of running five southwest Missouri group homes for the mentally ill despite having a 2002 felony conviction for Medicaid fraud that barred him from operating a business that bills Medicaid.
Those facilities included the Anderson Guest House, where a blaze in November 2006 killed 11 people.
State fire investigators ruled out arson but said the cause would remain undetermined because the building was gutted. They said faulty electrical wiring in the attic of the one-story home was the most likely cause, though DuPont has disputed that and has repeatedly denied any negligence.
The new indictment, filed April 2, includes the first criminal charges filed against DuPont’s wife, LaVerne, 72, and daughter Kelley Wheeler, 45, as well as Joplin River of Life Ministries, a nonprofit created by the DuPonts to run the homes they owned.
The new indictment alleges that the ministry illegally collected more than $725,000 from Medicaid between September 2003 and November 2006.
The indictment alleges that Robert DuPont formed the nonprofit ministry and installed LaVerne as the nominal head to hide the fact that he was still effectively in charge, even while he was in prison from March 2003 through August 2004.
There was no answer Tuesday at a Joplin home number listed for the DuPonts. Wheeler’s attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
Robert DuPont remains free on bond. Court records showed Wheeler was free on bond and had not entered a plea ahead of an arraignment set for May 16.
The new charges mean DuPont’s trial on the original count will not go ahead as scheduled Monday, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney said.
LaVerne DuPont faces two counts of health care fraud and conspiracy, while Wheeler faces two counts of health care fraud and money laundering. The most serious counts against the three defendants carry maximum prison terms of 20 years, according to the indictment.
Robert DuPont also faces a state lawsuit and multiple wrongful death lawsuits that allege he was negligent.
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