Edna Iris Torres of West Palm Beach, Florida, has been arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud and grand theft, both second degree felonies. While the total fraud amounted to $28,000, if convicted Ms. Torres could be sentenced to as much as 30 years in prison as well as $20,000 in fines.
According to the Sunshine State News, from May 2007 to February 2011, Torres allegedly submitted phony timesheets to Medicaid community service provider Blessed Friends Transportation Services Inc. to make it seem that she provided services to certain Medicaid patients. As in this case, Medicaid fraud often involves claims for services that are not provided.
According to the Sun Sentinel, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Medicaid fraud is an attempt to “essentially steal taxpayer dollars.”
Waters & Kraus is a national firm with highly skilled lawyers practicing qui tam litigation in four offices, including Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Baltimore. Our attorneys have decades of experience successfully representing whistleblowers in a variety of fraud cases. Contact us or call our attorneys at 800.226.9880 to learn more about our practice and how we can assist.
