ST. CROIX — Superior Court Judge Ernest Morris Jr. divided the prosecution of 11 defendants accused in a $309,000 Medicaid fraud scheme into five separate trials during a status conference Tuesday on St. Croix.
The five groups will be tried on different dates beginning in November, with the final trial scheduled for April 2027. Prosecutors said the court has not yet determined which defendants will be assigned to each group.
At a June 17 discovery hearing, Morris had scheduled a single trial for November 9.
READ MORE: Judge sets November 9 trial in $309,000 Medicaid fraud case while plea discussions take place
The court subsequently divided the case into five trial groups.
For Group 1, jury selection is scheduled for November 6, with the trial scheduled to begin November 9.
Group 2 is scheduled to begin trial November 16.
Group 5 will begin trial February 1, 2027, followed by Group 4 on February 8, 2027.
Group 3 will be the final group to go to trial, with jury selection and trial scheduled to begin April 19, 2027.
The dates for Groups 3 and 5 were switched to accommodate the schedule of a defense attorney.
The prosecution said the specific defendants who will be included in each of the five groups have not yet been determined. That information will be provided in a subsequent scheduling order from the court.
The case stems from a Virgin Islands Department of Justice investigation that led to the January 28 arrests of six Department of Human Services employees and five relatives or associates.
READ MORE: Eleven arrested in MAP, SNAP fraud; Akim Davis turns himself in after wanted bulletin, 10 post bail
Prosecutors allege the defendants improperly used government computer systems to alter or bypass eligibility safeguards, resulting in the unlawful disbursement of $309,099.44 in Medicaid funds.
The employees worked in the department’s Medical Assistance Program, which administers Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The defendants include MAP employees Shantenysha Victor-Davis, Doenyka Lewis, Kenera Sheneal Frederick, and Shanoya Hendrickson; and SNAP employees Lisa Minelli Montanez and Clarissa Nuñez. The other five defendants are Akim Davis, Victor-Davis’ husband; Carmen Saldana-Nuñez, Nuñez’s mother; Karen Blyden, Hendrickson’s mother; Sharon Henry, Frederick’s mother; and Shane Gaston, who has a child with Montanez.
All 11 defendants have pleaded not guilty.
READ MORE: All 11 defendants charged in $309,000 Medicaid fraud scheme advised of rights, plead not guilty
Each defendant is charged with Medicaid fraud, accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes and filing fraudulent claims against the government. Nuñez, Victor-Davis, Lewis, Montanez, and Frederick also face embezzlement charges.
The maximum penalties are five years in prison for Medicaid fraud and accessing a computer for fraudulent purposes, two years for fraudulent claims against the government, and 10 years for embezzlement.
