Criminal charges were recently filed against a former Alabama counselor. Accused of defrauding Medicaid for thousands of dollars, she is charged with both first-degree theft and Medicaid fraud. These types of alleged criminal law violations are serious and can have long-term consequences.
The 61-year-old defendant previously owned a counseling service that was apparently supposed to provide services to at-risk youth in the community. It is not clear if this was the service’s only clientele or if the organization also served other patients. However, Medicaid claims that the woman submitted multiple false claims for sessions with at-risk youths, stating that she claimed to have provided services that never actually took place. She allegedly received more than $11,000 for nonexistent sessions.
Investigators did not disclose how they were first made aware of the possible fraud, but she was indicted in April 2017. The former counselor had been living outside of Alabama for some time, but ultimately returned to the state and surrendered to authorities, where she was placed into a local detention facility. She later posted her $10,000 bond and was released.
A conviction on these charges could net up to 30 years behind bars, with the penalties for the class B felony theft alone accounting for anywhere from two up to 20 years. The Medicaid fraud charge is also a felony. Alabama defendants who are accused of these types of criminal law violations probably already understand just how much is on the line, and crafting a strong criminal defense foundation is often essential to achieving the best possible outcome.