Owner of Troy facility where boy died in hyperbaric chamber charged with health care fraud

By Kara. Berg, kberg@detroitnews.com

The proprietor of the Oxford Facilities in Brighton and Troy, who’s already charged with second-degree homicide after a five-year-old boy died in considered one of her hyperbaric chambers, has now been charged with 9 counts of well being care fraud.

Tamela Peterson, 59, of Brighton, was arraigned Tuesday within the 53rd District Courtroom in Howell on 9 counts of well being care fraud, which carries a most penalty of 4 years in jail.

Peterson, the proprietor and CEO of the Oxford Restoration Heart in Brighton and The Oxford Heart in Troy, is accused of billing for companies not offered to sufferers, the Michigan lawyer common’s workplace mentioned. Legal professional Common Dana Nessel’s workplace has been investigating these alleged practices since September 2022; practically two and a half years earlier than 5-year-old Thomas Cooper died from an explosion within the hyperbaric chamber he was being handled in on the Troy website in January 2025.

“Submitting false claims not solely impacts sufferers and well being care suppliers, but additionally contributes to the upper prices of well being care and medical health insurance for everybody,” Nessel mentioned in a press release Tuesday. “Healthcare fraud undermines belief between sufferers and suppliers and sufferers’ views on confidentiality and care. My workplace will proceed to carry accountable those that abuse their practices for their very own monetary achieve.”

Peterson’s lawyer couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.

Peterson and three different Oxford Heart staff — supervisor Gary Marken, safety director Jeffrey Mosteller and room operator Aleta Moffitt — have been charged in reference to Thomas’ loss of life. Peterson, Marken and Mosteller are charged with manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter, whereas Moffitt is charged with involuntary manslaughter and deliberately putting false info in a medical report.

A conviction for involuntary manslaughter carries a jail sentence of as much as 15 years.

Peterson was arrested in September for violating her bond situations within the Troy case by promoting a firearm she had owned as an alternative of surrendering it to the court docket as she was required to do.