Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MINNEAPOLIS – A Sartell woman has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Adelle Starin, 40, engaged in a fraud scheme through a Minnesota business she founded and operated called Baby’s on Broadway, which sold baby products and toys. As part of the scheme, Starin submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement to TRICARE, a healthcare program of the U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System. TRICARE paid out many of Starin’s fraudulent claims, but when TRICARE began rejecting those claims, Starin expanded her scheme to bring other sources of revenue into her company. She created a company called Sunshine Medical LLC and represented to two lenders—Liquid Capital Enterprises Corp. and Slope Tech. Inc.—that she needed financing to buy inventory for Baby’s on Broadway from Sunshine. In reality, and as Starin knew, Sunshine Medical had no business operations or revenue. To execute this scheme, Starin created fake Sunshine Medical invoices. She then sent those invoices to the lenders by means of wire communications in interstate commerce. Over the course of her scheme, Starin obtained over $9,000,000 in financing on the basis of her misrepresentations.
Starin pleaded guilty on December 19, 2024, in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud before Judge Jeffrey Bryan. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service and Defense Health Agency Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel W. Bobier is prosecuting the case for the United States.