Source: Office of United States Attorneys
LAFAYETTE, La. – A federal jury in Lafayette has convicted Shanone Chatman-Ashley, 45, of Opelousas, a Nurse Practitioner, for her role in an over $2 million health care fraud scheme, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. United States District Judge David C. Joseph presided over the four-day trial.
Chatman-Ashley was indicted in December 2023 and charged with five counts of health care fraud related to her involvement in the scheme to defraud the Medicare Program. Testimony and court documents introduced at trial this week established that Chatman-Ashley was enrolled as a nurse practitioner provider with Medicare. She worked as an independent contractor for companies that purportedly provided telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries. Chatman-Ashley routinely ordered knee braces, suspension sleeves, and other types of durable medical equipment for beneficiaries who she had not examined and who had not been examined by another medical provider. For example, evidence produced at trial showed that Chatman-Ashley ordered a left knee brace for a beneficiary whose left leg had been amputated. The defendant concealed the scheme by signing documentation falsely certifying that she had consulted with the beneficiaries and personally conducted assessments of them.
From 2017 to 2019, Chatman-Ashley signed more than 1,000 orders for unnecessary medical equipment, causing over $2 million in fraudulent Medicare claims and over $1 million in reimbursements. In exchange for the orders, Chatman-Ashley received kickbacks and bribes from the companies she contracted with.
“This defendant not only defrauded the Medicare Program but went against everything the medical profession stands for which is a promise to provide ethical and responsible patient care,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. “She took advantage of beneficiaries who were elderly and handicapped to order items for them that were not medically necessary. This office is committed to continuing to work with our federal partners to stop this type of fraud in the Western District of Louisiana.”
“Illegal kickback payments undermine and corrupt the medical decision-making process,” said Jason E. Meadows, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Both the payer and recipient of kickbacks benefit from these schemes, but it’s ultimately the taxpayers who foot the bill. HHS-OIG will continue collaborating with law enforcement and prosecutors to protect the Medicare trust fund that millions of Americans depend on.”
Chatman-Ashley faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. Her sentencing hearing has been set for July 31, 2025, at 10 a.m.
The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Danny Siefker of the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Kelly Z. Walters of the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section of the Criminal Division.
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