Feb. 6 hearing set in state lawsuit against Duponts, Joplin River of Life Ministries

A 10:45 a.m. Monday, Feb. 9, hearing is scheduled in McDonald County Circuit Court in the state of Missouri's lawsuit against Robert and Laverne Dupont, owners of the Anderson Guest House, and their Joplin River of Life Ministries, which operated that facility and three Guest Houses in Jasper County.
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Jay Nixon alleges the defendants defrauded the Missouri Medicaid program out of more than $689,000 over a three-year period.
The news release issued by the attorney general when the lawsuit was filed said:

While Laverne Dupont is listed as the executive director of Joplin River of Life Ministries Inc., her husband Robert directs operations of the ministries, Nixon said. In 2003, Dupont was excluded for 20 years from the Medicaid program because of a felony conviction for healthcare fraud.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants submitted false statements to the state of Missouri on the Joplin River of Life Ministries applications filed with the Department of Health and Senior Services to operate the ministries’ facilities. The applications concealed the fact that Robert Dupont was a principal in the operation of the ministries. Nixon said the River of Life Ministries was formed by Dupont in 2002 soon after his guilty plea to conceal his continued role as a principal.