NEW ULM — A 40-year-old Coon Rapids woman convicted of felony forgery was ordered to pay $46,775.45 restitution joint and several with a co-defendant in Brown County District Court June 1.

Tiffany Jones received a stay of imposition and was placed on up to three years supervised probation, monitored by the Minnesota Department of Corrections-Field Services. She was ordered to serve 30 days of electronic home monitoring within 90 days of sentencing and pay all associated costs.

Felony theft-medical costs and medical assistance fraud-attempt theft public funds charges were dismissed.

According to court documents filed Dec. 1, 2022, a Brown County fraud investigator began investigating a potential fraud report in a personal care assistance (PCA) matter on March 1, 2022. The investigator received information that an individual received in-home care services from Jones, her cousin, based on her disabilities and needs.

It was previously determined that the person receiving care needed 6.25 hours per day of multiple care services including dressing, grooming, bathing, eating, transfers, mobility, positioning, toileting and related needs.

The investigator learned that due to a reassessment, it was determined that the individual only needed one-half hour of care per day and there were no signs Jones provided any care, let alone the half hour of care determined necessary.

In addition, the investigator learned that the individual that originally moved to Brown County from Ramsey County had not done a reassessment since 2017, and at that time, she qualified for 7.25 hours per day.

The individual said her PCA is her cousin, Jones, and that she spends three days in Coon Rapids, then comes to Brown County for three days. She admitted she had not seen Jones since Feb. 13, 2022.

Contact with the company that employed Jones as a PCA indicated the individual qualified for 3.5 hours of care per day as of April 20, 2020.

The investigator reviewed Minnesota wage data for Jones and verified she was working with Allied Health Systems beginning in July 2021. Wage verification also showed Jones working for Marsden Building Maintenance, LLC and Aerotek, Inc. in 2021. Those jobs were in addition to her PCA work through Allegiance Ability Assistance that begin in 2014.

The investigation showed Jones was not providing PCA services and should not have billed $46,775.45 to Allegiance Ability Assistance and the State of Minnesota. The amount represents wages received from time sheets submitted for 2020, 2021 and 2022.