Not all crimes resulting in serious consequences are violent in nature. Readers may be interested to know that individuals found guilty of a federal white collar crime such as fraud could end up spending a good chunk of time in jail. This reality is likely not lost on a woman from Orange County who was recently charged with several white collar crimes including racketeering, Medicaid fraud and identity theft.
The woman allegedly took $3 million from the state of Florida. She reportedly accomplished this by charging the state’s Medicaid program for services that her mental health business did not actually provide. Authorities believe she was able to do this by bribing Medicaid recipients with gift cards, for their recipient numbers. In exchange for the gift cards they would reportedly fill out applications for services they never received.
According to the authorities, the money the woman allegedly took was spent on a variety of luxury items including vehicles, jewelry and vacations.
In most situations fraud cases like this one are quite complex. This is at least in part due to the large amount of paperwork involved. In some situations where fraud is alleged, the matter is the result of a mistake that is accidentally made while completing that paperwork. When that happens it is possible that someone may find that they have been accused of a crime they did not mean to commit.
Whatever the criminal charge someone finds that they are facing, it is important to keep the potential consequences in mind. For the best outcome most find it beneficial to work with a criminal defense lawyer.
Source: Bradenton Herald, “Fla. woman bilked Medicaid to pay for trips,” March 28, 2013
