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Melville woman charged with Medicaid fraud

On Behalf of | Mar 29, 2011 | Firm News, White Collar Crimes |

Health care fraud is aggressively investigated and prosecuted by the government. Unfortunately, a surprising number of health care fraud charges arise from innocent submission mistakes or patterns of claims that cause suspicion for some reason. Because the government has seemingly unlimited resources to investigate and pursue charges, anyone suspected or accused of committing this type of fraud must launch a strong defense.

A Melville woman knows this all too well. She has recently been charged with 50 counts of Medicaid fraud, as well as three counts of filing false public records. The 36-year-old woman is accused of falsifying the Medicaid provider agreement and a Medicaid application form for a health care agency in Opelousas. Additionally, authorities believe she submitted 50 improper claims to the Medicaid program in 2009 based on false information.

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with help from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, arrested the woman. If she is convicted of the charges against her, she could potentially face up to five years in prison for each count of Medicaid fraud.

Every state has its own agency that governs Medicaid, and each state has a corresponding criminal investigation arm. It should go without saying that a Medicaid fraud charge is serious. Whether someone has been charged with providing false information on a Medicaid application, altering a prescription, receiving services for which person is ineligible, using multiple Medicaid cards or another offense, it is essential that he or she has a solid defense to fight the allegation.

Source: KATC, “Melville Woman Arrested on 50 Counts of Medicaid Fraud,” 18 March 2011

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