Spokane adult family home operator faces felony charge

A Spokane care provider has been charged with improperly obtaining more than $68,000 worth of state payments while operating a business that catered to disabled adult clients.

Serah Kamau, 52, appeared earlier this month in Spokane County Superior Court and has pleaded not guilty to first-degree theft in a case that initially was investigated by the Washington Attorney General’s Office.

Kamau’s attorney, Chris Bugbee, said his client may have been confused about whether she was or was not entitled to state benefits. But she has since made full restitution.

“When she was informed that she wasn’t entitled to it, she raised the money very quickly and reimbursed the state,” Bugbee said of Kamau. “I think that will go a long way for us being able to resolve the case in a favorable way.”

Kamau founded a business in 2017 called Brookhouse Adult Family Home for the purpose of providing care for patients with dementia, mental illness and other disabilities.

Then in June 2021, Kamau filed a worker’s compensation claim for an injury that occurred in the previous February while she was working as a licensed practical nurse for Eastern State Hospital.

From September 2021 to December 2022, Kamau “worked and operated her own business while receiving time-loss benefits in the amount of $60,654, to which she was not entitled,” charging documents state.

In addition, from September 2021 to August 2023, Kamau received $8,224 in vocational benefits that she likewise was not entitled, according to the records.

“Whether you own a business or are an employee, individuals receiving workers’ compensation benefits must disclose any work they’re doing while collecting benefits,” Celeste Monahan, assistant director of L&I’s fraud prevention & labor standards division, said in a news release. “It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a legal obligation.”

Kamau, who no longer works for Eastern State Hospital, still has a contract with DSHS to provide services through Brookhouse Adult Family Home, according to a DSHS spokesperson. However, the criminal charge triggered a state investigation that may disqualify her from being a provider.