It’s important to pay attention to the details when filing claims with the government. (You can be sure that someone will definitely be checking your submission, so it’s important to be honest.) An article posted on ReadingEagle.com explains how one woman incorrectly filled out her timesheets for services supposedly performed and consequently bilked more than $11,400 from Medicare.
The story reports that the woman worked as an independent contractor and provided community integration services for her deaf and autistic son. (Community integration services typically assist disabled individuals in becoming gainfully employed.) She purportedly submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims regarding the care she provided for her disabled son while also working for a local services provider. Her timesheets indicated that she had performed more than 600 hours of services over an 18-month time period. (She got into trouble because some of the hours claimed overlapped with records of services she provided to her son.)
The woman’s lawyer argued during a four-day trial that despite the fact that she had been trained to log her hours as they occurred, she had made a mistake by logging her time in block hours. (Perhaps she was daydreaming during her timesheet training.)
The jury didn’t fall for the “mistake” theory and convicted her of Medicaid fraud, theft by deception and receiving stolen property of more than $2,000. The story states that the 57-year-old woman appeared shocked as the guilty verdict was read. (She claimed that she did not bill for hours or services while caring for her son, but the evidence including numerous medical records and timesheets apparently proved otherwise.)
No doubt, it is extremely difficult to take care of a disabled child, but that does not excuse this woman’s illegal actions. Fortunately, her lack of attention to detail was discovered by government investigators who did pay attention to the minutiae. Although we don’t know what punishment this woman will receive, it’s a sure bet that she will definitely pay attention to the details as the judge delivers her sentence.
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