BILLINGS, Mont. — A Billings counselor has been ordered to pay nearly $48,000 to the state after pleading guilty to charges stemming from fraudulent Medicaid claims, according to the Montana Department of Justice.
Melvera Parker, 69, pleaded guilty to felony Medicaid fraud and making a false claim to a public agency following an investigation by the department’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Prosecutors said Parker billed Medicaid for patients she had never seen and continued submitting claims for some patients after they had stopped receiving counseling services from her.
Parker was charged last year and initially pleaded not guilty before changing her plea in August as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Under the plea agreement, Parker was ordered to pay $47,706.41 to the state and received a six-year deferred sentence. She is also barred from billing federal health insurance programs for the duration of the sentence.
The investigation was led by Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Agent Joe Neussendorfer, while Assistant Attorney General Alexandra van Belle prosecuted the case.
The Montana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes health-care providers suspected of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program. It also investigates certain allegations involving abuse, neglect and exploitation in facilities receiving Medicaid funding.
Montanans can report suspected Medicaid fraud or patient abuse, neglect or exploitation through the state’s Medicaid Fraud hotline at 800-376-1115.
By: DNU Newswire