Attorney General Jack Conway and his Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Unit announce the guilty plea and sentencing of Hailey Smith in Hopkins District Court on a charge of defrauding the Kentucky Medicaid Program.
Smith, a resident of Madisonville, Kentucky, received a 12-month sentence, which will be diverted for a period of two years as long as she meets the terms of the plea agreement. Smith was also ordered to pay $8,290 in restitution to the Kentucky Department of Medicaid Services. As part of the guilty plea, Smith is prohibited from working in any Kentucky Consumer Directed Option (CDO) program.
Smith provided community living support, respite care, and attendant care services to several Medicaid recipients through the CDO program. By pleading guilty, Smith admits to submitting false time sheets between May of 2011 and April of 2012 for services she did not perform, resulting in a loss of $8,290 to the Medicaid program.
This case was investigated by the Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Unit of the Kentucky Attorney General's Office and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services' Office of the Inspector General.
MEDICAID RECOVERIES
Since Attorney General Conway took office in January 2008, his Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control has recovered or been awarded more than $260 million dollars for the state and federal Medicaid programs. These cases range from lawsuits and settlements against pharmaceutical companies to cases against individual providers.
In 2013, General Conway's Medicaid Fraud Unit was named one of the most aggressive in the country by the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen.
The Attorney General's tip line for reporting allegations of Medicaid fraud is 1-877-228-7384.
