Speech therapist gets prison for stealing $60K from Georgia Medicaid

By Angel K. Brooks

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A speech therapist from Stone Mountain was found guilty Thursday of defrauding the Georgia Medicaid program of nearly $60,000, the state Attorney General's Office announced.

Janine Wright was sentenced to four years in prison and six years of probation. She also must pay restitution of $59,570.25 to the state Medicaid program and a $5,000 fine to DeKalb County.

During the three-day trial, the jury heard evidence that Wright submitted more than 900 false Medicaid claims from June 2008 through January 2010 for speech therapy services for children that she did not provide, the Attorney General's Office said.

The fraud included claims for children who were not yet her patients, were no longer her patients, and were never her patients. She also submitted claims for more sessions than she provided for her actual patients, authorities said.