Hexagram Home Health Owner Jacqueline Tuanqui Convicted in Medicare Kickback Scheme

Case from 2015–2020 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Dec. 11, 2015; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Jacqueline Tuanqui, owner of Hexagram Home Health Care LLC, was indicted in 2015 on charges that she paid marketers kickbacks to steer elderly Medicare patients to her company, some of whom did not qualify for in-home care, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

Outcome: A federal jury convicted Tuanqui in March 2019 on all counts of a later superseding indictment, and she was sentenced to 36 months in prison. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed her convictions on Dec. 28, 2020 [2] [3]. Marketer Susie Avellanosa, charged alongside her in 2015, pleaded guilty and testified as a cooperating witness, according to the appeals court [2].

How the scheme worked

According to the 2015 indictment as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. Paying for patients: Tuanqui paid marketers to refer Medicare beneficiaries to Hexagram, including some patients who did not qualify for in-home treatment.
2. Cover contracts: Tuanqui and Avellanosa, owner of Elgin-based Allied Care Services Inc., signed written contracts saying Avellanosa would be paid by the hour, when the real deal paid her for a set number of patients per month.
3. Medicare money: Medicare paid Hexagram at least $450,000 for treating patients referred through kickbacks, the 2015 indictment alleged. The scheme charged in 2015 ran from about November 2012 to April 2014.

At trial, jurors heard that Tuanqui agreed to pay Avellanosa $7,200 a month to refer 10 to 12 patients a month, that referring patients was the only work Avellanosa did for Hexagram, and that Tuanqui eventually fired her for referring too few, according to the Seventh Circuit [2]. The court said Hexagram received about $12.4 million from Medicare claims between 2008 and 2015, roughly 90% of its revenue, and rejected Tuanqui's argument that a flat monthly fee could not be a kickback.

The people charged

Jacqueline Tuanqui, 53 when indicted, Bartlett, Ill. — owner of Hexagram Home Health Care.

• Indicted in 2015; a 2017 superseding indictment charged health care fraud conspiracy, kickback conspiracy, kickback counts and visa fraud [2].
• Convicted by a jury on all 10 counts in 2019 and sentenced to 36 months in prison [3]; convictions affirmed Dec. 28, 2020.

Susie Avellanosa, 57 when indicted, Elgin, Ill. — owner of Allied Care Services Inc.

• Charged in 2015 with kickback conspiracy and eight counts of receiving kickbacks [1].
• Pleaded guilty and cooperated, according to the Seventh Circuit [2]. We did not find her sentence in public sources.

Red flags

• Someone offers to sign you up for free home-health care you never asked for.
• A recruiter asks for your Medicare number or offers cash or gifts to use it.
• Nurses visit for services your doctor didn't order.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Review your Medicare Summary Notices for home-health episodes you didn't need.
2. Report kickback offers to HHS-OIG at oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Jacqueline Tuanqui, Bartlett, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Andrea R. Wood); 7th Cir. No. 19-3054	Convicted at trial 2019 on all 10 counts; sentenced to 36 months; affirmed Dec. 28, 2020	[2], [3]
Susie Avellanosa, Elgin, Ill.	N.D. Ill.	Pleaded guilty and cooperated; sentence not found in public sources	[2]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Owner of Harwood Heights Home Health Care Company Indicted in Medicare Fraud and Kickback Scheme," Dec. 11, 2015. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/owner-harwood-heights-home-health-care-company-indicted-medicare-fraud-and-kickback
2. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States v. Jacqueline Tuanqui, No. 19-3054, Dec. 28, 2020 (via Justia). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/19-3054/19-3054-2020-12-28.html
3. Law Street Media, "Seventh Circuit Upholds Medicare Kickback Conviction," December 2020. https://lawstreetmedia.com/news/health/seventh-circuit-upholds-medicare-kickback-conviction/

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