Plea in case linked to starved girl’s death
A former Philadelphia special-education teacher who moonlighted at the private social-service agency involved in the starvation death of Danieal Kelly admitted to a federal judge today that she created bogus records to show at-risk children got in-home services they never received.
By Joseph A. Slobodzian A former Philadelphia special-education teacher who moonlighted at the private social-service agency involved in the starvation death of Danieal Kelly admitted to a federal judge today that she created bogus records to show at-risk children got in-home services they never received.
Patricia Burch pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell to one count of lying - under oath - to the federal grand jury investigating an alleged multi-million fraud scheme by officials of MultiEthnic Behavioral Health Inc.
On Jan. 31, 2008, Burch told the grand jury that two of MultiEthnic's co-founders, Mickal Kamuvaka and Solomon Manamela, asked her to create progress notes and other reports for the agency's cases and sign their names to the records.
Yesterday, Burch, 56, admitted she lied when she further testified to the grand jury, telling the panel that she consistently refused to falsify the reports. MultiEthnic needed the paperwork to show city auditors to prove provided in-home services to about 500 at-risk families under a $3.7-million city contract.
Although Burch's work for MultiEthnic did not involve the 2006 death of Kelly, prosecutors say half of MultiEthnic's clients never got services the city paid for.
Burch, who taught at West Philadelphia High School, worked full time for the Philadelphia School District from 1984 until May, when she and eight others were charged in the MultiEthnic fraud scheme.
This afternoon, Burch left court declining to comment to reporters. In court, Burch's attorney, Kathryn Roberts, told the judge that her client was angry she let herself get involved in the fraud.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Vineet Gauri said Burch would testify against Kamuvaka and others at their federal trial on Feb. 1.
Though her sentence will depend on how prosecutors assess her cooperation, Burch's plea agreement means she faces a likely prison sentence of three to four years under federal sentencing guidelines.
MultiEthnic and its contract with the city's Department of Human Services came under federal scrutiny last year after a Philadelphia County grand jury recommended criminal charges against nine people for their alleged involvement in the Aug. 4, 2006, starvation death of Danieal Kelly.
According to the federal indictment, MultiEthnic officials were not providing the DHS-funded home visits and other services for at-risk children like Danieal.
After Kelly died, the federal and state charges allege, MultiEthnic's co-founders - Kamuvaka, Manamela, Earle McNeill and Manuelita Buenaflor - hired Burch and others to create records to make auditors believe the city got what it paid for.
Kelly, a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who could not walk or care for herself, starved to death in a squalid West Philadelphia apartment she shared with her mother and eight of her siblings.
Danieal and her family were considered at-risk and DHS ordered twice-weekly home visits to ensure Danieal was safe and getting services she needed.
Yet when Danieal died, she weighed 47 pounds and her body was covered with bedsores, some of which were maggot-infested and bone-deep. The apartment had no electricity or running water and Danieal's siblings did not recognize the MultiEthnic case worker who was purportedly visiting twice a week.
Burch is the fourth person to plead guilty in the federal indictment filed in May against nine MultiEthnic employees including Kamuvaka, Manamela and McNeill.
Co-founder Buenaflor pleaded guilty in June to wire fraud, health care fraud and conspiracy. MultiEthnic workers Christina Nimpson and Sotheary Chan have also pleaded guilty and, like Buenaflor, are cooperating with prosecutors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bea L. Witzleben said sentencings for those who pleaded guilty will be postponed until after the trial of Kamuvaka and the four others.
Two of those charged in the federal indictment - Kamuvaka and Julius Juma Murray, the MultiEthnic caseworker who was supposed to visit Danieal Kelly twice a week - are also awaiting trial in Common Pleas Court for their alleged roles in Kelly's death.