Delores Jordan of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Ernest Williams of Lexington, Kentucky, were sentenced on April 24 to prison and probation respectively for their involvement in a kickback conspiracy and health care fraud. U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell sentenced Jordan to 60 months in prison and Williams to five years of probation.
Jordan owned Serenity Keeper’s, LLC, a sober home company based in Fayette County that claimed to provide mental health services and housing. Williams operated several sober homes under the same company from 2019 through February 2022. The case is significant as it highlights ongoing efforts by federal authorities to prosecute fraudulent practices affecting Medicaid and Medicare programs.
According to court documents, Jordan solicited kickbacks starting in fall 2019 for referring urine drug testing from Serenity Keepers to various labs. These payments were made via checks, cash, or electronic transfers. In October 2021, the kickbacks increased to $5,000 per payment sent as consulting fees through co-defendant Jerome Davis’s company X-Tremly for Christ LLC. Medicaid and Medicare paid approximately $2.57 million for these referrals while unlawful kickbacks were being exchanged.
Williams performed urine drug tests on residents without medical provider orders or reviews. Additionally, between August 2019 and March 2022 at Jordan’s direction, Serenity Keepers billed Medicaid for peer support services not provided by licensed specialists; Williams falsely claimed residents received six hours daily of such support. Over this period he received over $365,000 tied to these billings.
Other defendants have also been convicted or pleaded guilty: Dashawn Dawkins was convicted earlier in April; Lily Bell admitted guilt regarding aggravated identity theft; Jerome Davis pleaded guilty in the conspiracy case with a sentence of just over one year incarceration.
Under federal law both Jordan and Williams must serve at least eighty-five percent of their sentences before supervised release by the U.S Probation Office for three years post-incarceration.
Jason Parman (First Assistant United States Attorney), Olivia Olson (FBI Louisville Special Agent), and Russell Coleman (Kentucky Attorney General) jointly announced the sentences. The FBI conducted the investigation with help from Kentucky’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse; Assistant U.S Attorney Kate K Smith prosecuted the case.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky enforces federal laws—including criminal prosecutions—and maintains community safety through partnerships according to its official website. The office works under the Department of Justice according to its official website serving eastern Kentucky according to its official website. It addresses issues like drug abuse prevention through initiatives such as Heroin Education Action Team according to its official website, collaborates with agencies including Elder Justice Task Force according to its official website, handles civil cases alongside criminal ones according to its official website, originated with Judiciary Act of 1789 according to its official website, and has had early attorneys who served notable roles including governor or Supreme Court justice according to its official website.
