Wichita woman indicted for defrauding Medicaid of $3.76 million
March 5, 2008 -- Attorney General Steve Six and U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren announced today that a federal Grand Jury in Wichita indicted Shelley Harding for defrauding the Kansas Medicaid program of approximately $3.76 million between June 2001 and February 2006.The state alleges that Harding, doing business as A New Beginning, knowingly devised and executed a scheme to defraud the state’s Medicaid program. State officials claim that Harding knowingly submitted, and caused others to submit, materially false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid for community-based drug and alcohol treatment services that were not provided, including claims for drug and alcohol treatment provided to children under the age of twelve years-old. The state claims that Harding submitted false and fraudulent claims for drug and alcohol services for approximately 81 children.
Officials also believe that Harding billed Medicaid for services when beneficiaries were not eligible for such services and also for services never provided.
“The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division is working hard to eliminate fraud from our state’s Medicaid Program,” Six said. “We will not tolerate abuse of the system, fraud or false claims at the expense of the Kansas Medicaid Program and Kansas citizens.”
Harding was indicted under federal law. Deputy Attorney General Loren Snell, who is also a special assistant US attorney, will prosecute the case with assistance from an assistant US attorney.
These are only allegations and Harding will be presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.
###