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A Wisconsin in home nurse stole $28,000 from Medicaid for fake billings for caring for a premie.
Clipped from: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/11/11/home-care-nurse-charged-medicaid-fraud-theft/6252190002/
A Milwaukee nurse has been charged with theft and fraud related to her billing for private-duty work.
Paige O’Connor, 49, was charged in Dane County by the state Department of Justice after an investigation by its Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse unit.
According the department, a mother hired O’Connor to care for her young child, born prematurely in 2017, who had severe medical issues due to poor lung function. Starting in March 2019, O’Connor provided skilled care like suctioning, monitoring the ventilator and feeding via a tube. The expense was covered by Medicaid.
When the mother read the summaries of benefits provided by the program early this year, she noticed O’Connor had been billing Medicaid for times she didn’t work at the home, including $510 a day for a time O’Connor was a vacation in Florida last fall.
O’Connor’s total bogus billing to Medicaid topped $28,000, according the DOJ.
She is charged with theft by false representation and medical assistance fraud, both felonies. According to online court records, O’Connor is scheduled to make her initial court appearance Jan. 7.
O’Connor’s attorney, Ryan Harrington, said, “We deny all charges and look forward to setting the matter for preliminary hearing and putting the State to its strictest proof as we continue to thoroughly investigate the allegations contained in the complaint.”
Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.