Federal prosecutors say a Florida woman defrauded Georgia’s Medicaid program of more than $500,000 by falsely claiming reimbursements for medical services that were never provided.
Jennifer Alsdorf, who owns Hand in Hand Speech & Language Services Inc. in Tampa, faces 74 counts of health care fraud and 10 counts of wire fraud. She once oeprated her business in Valdosta.
Each health care fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and each wire fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, prosecutors said. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000.
“Her alleged fraud includes billing for medical services never performed, for patients never seen, and in the names of medical professionals who were not working for the defendant,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates in Atlanta said Tuesday in a statement announcing Alsdorf’s arraignment on the charges.
Prosecutors said Alsdorf contracted with speech-language pathologists to perform services under independent contractor agreements. Alsdorf allegedly billed Georgia Medicaid for the services provided by the pathologists, but gave them only a portion of the money she received from the state, keeping the balance. She also allegedly billed Medicaid for “sensory integration” therapy patients never received and contractors never provided, and she allegedly kept government payments for the therapy to herself.
State Attorney General Sam Olens said the suspect used Medicaid “as a slush fund to enrich herself.”
Alsdorf was indicted on May 21. A date was not provided for her next appearance in U.S. District Court.
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