Vermont Business Magazine Jennifer Newsome, age 50, of Ludlow, Vermont, was convicted on June 23, 2016, in Vermont Superior Court for Windsor County on a felony count of Medicaid Fraud and a misdemeanor count of False Pretenses. The convictions arose from Newsome’s submission of claims, as the employer of record, for payments from the Vermont Medicaid’s Children’s Personal Care Services Program, for services purportedly rendered to two recipients by an acquaintance of Newsome when those services were not actually rendered. The acquaintance was not aware that the claims were filed, and Newsome received and deposited the checks for payment of those services herself.
Newsome entered no contest pleas to the charges. She was sentenced to 3 to 5 years in jail, all suspended, and placed on four years of probation subject to standard conditions and the special condition that she complete 100 hours of community service. The Court also ordered Newsome to pay $7,075.83 in restitution to the Vermont Medicaid program. As a consequence of her convictions, Newsome is likely to be excluded from participation as a provider in Medicaid, Medicare and other federally-funded healthcare programs for five years.
The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit within the Vermont Attorney General’s Office with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.
Vermont AG: Jun 27, 2016