BATON
ROUGE, LA – Attorney General Jeff Landry’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU)
has achieved two convictions on a welfare fraud scheme costing Louisiana over
$1 million.
Lanice Stamps, 39
of New Orleans, pled guilty to one count of
Felony Theft and was ordered to pay $1,059,709.76 towards restitution for the
money stolen and $300,000 to the MFCU in civil monetary penalties. She was also
ordered to execute a mortgage to repay the State for Medicaid monies she used
to pay her home mortgage.
Tia Smiley, 40 of New Orleans, pled guilty to one
count of Medicaid fraud and was ordered to pay court costs and other fees,
complete 100 hours of community service, and serve three years supervised
probation. She and Stamps are now prohibited from maintaining employment,
seeking employment, contracting with and/or maintaining an interest in any
provider of Medicaid or Medicare.
“I commend my team for achieving these convictions which
result in nearly $1.4 million back to Louisiana in restitution and civil
penalties,” said General Landry. “My MFCU investigators and prosecutors work
tirelessly to protect services for those in need and the taxpayers who pay for
this welfare; today is a great example of their fine efforts on behalf of our
State.”
Stamps was the owner of a behavioral health company (A
New Directions Support Services) while Smiley worked as her biller. On top of the
scheme for which they were arrested and prosecuted as Medicaid providers,
Stamps and Smiley were also both Medicaid recipients.
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