Brookhaven woman ordered to pay back $305,685 in Medicaid fraud

A Brookhaven woman has been convicted of Medicaid fraud in the amount of reported Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr Teresa Renee Owens was the owner of Better Home Healthcare of Georgia in Atlanta a business that provided behavioral medical therapy services to children and adults In March Owens pleaded guilty in DeKalb County Superior Court to one count of Medicaid fraud one count of false writings and one count of identity fraud Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson sentenced Owens to years with one year to be served in prison and the remainder on probation At an April restitution hearing Johnson also ordered Owens to pay back the Georgia Medicaid scheme According to a release from Carr s office Owens directed the submission of false contends to the Georgia Medicaid initiative on a repetitive basis and instructed her staff to generate recipient records containing false information to backing fraudulent states The funds derived from the scheme were deposited into Owens personal bank account Carr explained Medicaid fraud is theft of taxpayer dollars and it undermines a system meant to care for our majority vulnerable Georgians As this development shows we will not hesitate to hold accountable those who use their positions to exploit our Medicaid activity Rest assured if you re a provider attempting to battle the system you will be identified prosecuted and ordered to pay back every dollar you stole Carr commented Under Carr s leadership the Medicaid Fraud Division has secured more than convictions for Medicaid fraud and the abuse neglect and exploitation of older adults resulting in over million in restitution orders in criminal matters the press release reported The post Brookhaven woman ordered to pay back in Medicaid fraud appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta