Home / Crime and Justice / Georgia Woman Sentenced for $5.4M Medicaid Fraud
Georgia Woman Sentenced for $5.4M Medicaid Fraud
19 Jan
Summary
- Woman submitted over 77,000 fraudulent claims totaling $5.4 million.
- Scheme involved 7,684 Medicaid recipients' ID numbers.
- Convicted on health care fraud and identity theft, sentenced to 10 years.
A significant healthcare fraud operation in Georgia has resulted in a lengthy prison sentence for Elizabeth Sue Ivester. The 63-year-year-old resident of Warner Robins was found guilty of submitting an staggering 77,095 fraudulent claims. These claims, totaling over $5.4 million, were made through a company named Durable Medical Equipment, which investigators state never actually provided any ordered or dispensed items.
The fraudulent activities further involved the illicit use of identification numbers belonging to 7,684 Medicaid recipients. Additionally, the identity of one prescribing physician was falsely represented, compounding the severity of the offenses. Attorney General Chris Carr condemned the scheme as a massive defrauding of taxpayers and vulnerable patients, vowing zero tolerance.
Consequently, Ivester was convicted on one count of health care fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. She has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, with seven to be served and the remainder on strict probation. She has also been ordered to pay full restitution amounting to $5,437,283.26, bringing a close to this extensive fraudulent scheme.
