New fraud charges in caretaker abuse case
Mar. 29—Two women accused in a high-profile caretaker abuse case each were indicted by a grand jury with additional fraud charges.
Patricia Hurtado and Angelita Chacon — who face criminal charges in the 2022 death of Mary Melero — face felony Medicaid fraud charges. Hurtado, 43, also was charged with two counts of falsifying Medicaid documents.
The women were live-in girlfriends who resided in Rio Rancho when they were indicted in 2022, Hurtado had told FBI agents who investigated the case, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The new felony charges were added to each woman's criminal case in supplemental grand jury indictments filed March 21. Each woman faces previous felony charges of false imprisonment and abuse of a resident resulting in death.
The supplemental indictments allege the women made fraudulent claims to receive Medicaid benefits for the Customized Community Support program for caring for Melero and Chacon's special-needs son.
The two received more than $300,000 in funding from Medicaid over a three-year period to care for the two patients, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The funding flowed to both women through the state's Developmental Disabilities Waiver program.
Hurtado also was charged with two felony counts of falsification of documents, on allegations she lied on paperwork related to the Medicaid program.
Melero was found by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents with gruesome injuries in the back of Hurtado's and Chacon's van as they were headed for Mexico, the arrest warrant affidavit states. The agents said Melero was wrapped in a blanket and lying on a piece of foam, with dirty bandages covering open wounds that appeared infected.
A New Mexican investigation following the indictments against Chacon, 53, and Hurtado showed gaps in the state's oversight of care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including mistakes and oversights directly linked to the Melero case. Chacon's criminal history initially barred her from being a caretaker in the state program before she received approval with an untimely appeal.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in 2022 the injuries Melero suffered were among the worst he had seen in his career as a prosecutor, and he described the alleged abuse by Chacon and Hurtado "nothing short of torture."
Torrez has called for sweeping reforms to the state's programs that provide oversight for care of people with disabilities.
