Rita Hunter Indicted.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, has announced that the former public administrator of Jasper County, Mo., has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a nearly $200,000 fraud scheme in which she illegally obtained federal Medicaid and Social Security benefits for her wards, then used those proceeds to subsidize the administration of her office.

Rita Frances Hunter, 59, of Joplin, Mo., was charged in a 12-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011.

The federal indictment charges Hunter, who was the elected Public Administrator for Jasper County from Jan. 1, 2005, to Dec. 31, 2008, with two counts each of health care fraud, theft of public money, Social Security fraud and Medicaid fraud and four counts of document fraud. The indictment specifically alleges violations related to 14 wards, primarily mentally disabled or indigent persons who were designated by the Circuit Court to be under the care and custody of the Public Administrator as the guardian/conservator. The wards allegedly received $196,597 in Medicaid and Social Security benefits that were illegally funneled to the Public Administrator’s office.

According to the indictment, Hunter directed her employees to submit materially false Medicaid applications for wards under the custody of the Public Administrator’s office. These applications falsely stated that the wards had assets below the $1,000 threshold to be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits, when in fact, the wards had more than $1,000 in assets.

Hunter allegedly used resources from those wards to fund approximately $121,099 toward the administration of the office, including payments for administration fees, attorney fees, tax preparation fees and court fees unrelated to the ward’s medical care and not allowed under law.

Hunter also charged fees that were collected from wards whose sole source of income was Social Security payments, the indictment says. Hunter allegedly converted those Social Security payments, which were made for the benefit of the wards, to the use of her office, without proper authorization and without reporting the fees to the Social Security Administration. The fees, according to the indictment, would not have been approved by the Social Security Administration.

Hunter allegedly misused Social Security funds by charging $15,901 in attorney fees and $59,597 in public administrator fees, for a total fraud of $75,498.

Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

Jasper County Jail Count

182 December 16, 2011

Total Including Placed out of County

Seems like the older I get, the less I know. At least I think I know less.

I’d give anything to be half as smart as I thought I was when I was twenty. What I’m afraid of is that I’m only ‘bout half as smart as I think I am now.

Prob’ly the worst thing about gettin’ some a that mature experience under your belt is ya start realizing just how much ya really don’t know about a lotta things.

So ta my way a thinkin’, the more ya know the dumber ya feel.

‘Course you can always go outa your way ta find onea those smart twenty-something’s that know it all. Usually after a while ya start ta feel a little better just knowin’ that in another ten or fifteen years, they won’t be as smart you think they are now.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Weekly Column

Balance a Forced-Air Heating System

Q: It doesn’t seem to matter whether I open or close the registers in certain rooms -- my house is constantly too cold in some spots and too hot in others. The insulation seems fine, and the heater is working fine. I change the filter every two months. What else can I check? -- John P., Worcester, Mass.

A: You may be able to further balance a forced-air heating system if dampers have been installed within the delivery air ducts leading to the registers. Check along the air duct run as far as possible to locate air dampers. These are indicated by a wing nut installed directly in the duct that does not seem to be joining anything.

If this wing nut is perpendicular to the duct (say, the duct is horizontal but the wing nut is oriented vertical), the damper is closed, restricting airflow. Use a screwdriver or manually turn the wing nut parallel to the duct, thereby opening the damper.

Try to locate as many of these dampers as possible. Working with a partner who is inside the living area of the house, find out where these ducts lead and if air flows or stops flowing to different areas of the house depending on whether the damper is open or closed.

Then, label the damper. Using a permanent marker, write the duct’s destination (such as the living room or a bedroom), and mark what angles the wing nut should be at when closed and when open.

Using this method of opening or closing dampers in the air ducts, you can balance the heating system a bit better so that additional warm air flows into colder areas of the house and is diverted from parts of the house that are too hot.

HOME TIP: To save on heating costs, don’t turn a thermostat to its highest setting hoping to quickly heat a room -- keep it at a lower temperature setting and give the system about 20 minutes to bring the room up to a comfortable temperature.