A federal jury has convicted a Louisiana nurse practitioner for her central role in a brazen healthcare fraud scheme that bilked Medicare out of more than $2 million in taxpayer funds.
Shanone Chatman-Ashley, 45, of Opelousas, was found guilty Thursday on five counts of health care fraud after prosecutors presented evidence that she orchestrated a wide-ranging scam involving fraudulent telehealth services and medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME).
According to the DOJ’s press release, Chatman-Ashley was an enrolled Medicare provider and worked as an independent contractor for telehealth companies between 2017 and 2019.
Prosecutors said she ordered more than 1,000 pieces of DME — including knee braces and suspension sleeves — for elderly and disabled patients she never examined. In many cases, these individuals had never even spoken to her.
Chatman-Ashley allegedly falsified records to make it appear she had conducted personal assessments, certifying that the equipment was medically necessary.
Her bogus certifications triggered over $2 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, resulting in more than $1 million in improper reimbursements. In return, she received illegal kickbacks and bribes from the telehealth companies that benefited from the scheme.
Chatman-Ashley now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each of the five counts. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31, and will be determined by a federal judge considering federal sentencing guidelines and statutory factors.
This conviction is part of the Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which has brought charges against over 5,800 defendants since 2007, collectively responsible for more than $30 billion in fraudulent billing.
U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook for the Western District of Louisiana condemned Chatman-Ashley’s actions as a betrayal of the medical profession: “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.”
“Today, a Louisiana jury convicted Shanone Chatman-Ashley of health care fraud for brazenly cheating Medicare out of its limited resources,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, the Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“Dishonest medical practitioners put significant strain on our health care system and reduce the quality of patient care. The Department of Justice will not tolerate medical professionals who fraudulently enrich themselves at the expense of American taxpayers. I thank the prosecutors and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly on this case in the pursuit of justice.”
“Illegal kickback payments undermine and corrupt the medical decision-making process,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows 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.”
