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Press Release

O'Fallon Woman Sentenced for Healthcare Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois

James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today, that Ann Marie Sheppard, 55, of O’Fallon, Illinois, was sentenced on February 10, 2016, in the U.S. District Court in East Saint Louis, Illinois, on the charges that she engaged in a scheme to steal from a health care program and that she committed two related mail frauds. The district court sentenced Sheppard to five years of probation with the first six months to be served in home detention. She is also ordered to pay $34,168.33 in restitution to the Home Services Program and a $300.00 special assessment.


Court records indicate that Sheppard submitted false and fraudulent bills in relation to her alleged performance of personal assistant services in the Home Services Program, a Medicaid Waiver Program designed to allow individuals to stay in their homes instead of entering a nursing home. Sheppard falsely billed the program between June 30, 2013 and April 30, 2015, when she purportedly rendered personal assistant services to a customer when, in fact, she had not. For example, she billed for home services when she was actually in Costa Rica and then again when she was on a cruise in the Caribbean Sea. As a result, Sheppard improperly billed hours of services and obtained $34,168.33 in payments for services not performed.


The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, the Illinois State Police - Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William E. Coonan.


If you suspect or know of an individual or company that is not complying with healthcare laws or public aid programs, you may report this activity to the local office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, or you may call 1.800.447.8477.

Updated February 11, 2016

Topic
Health Care Fraud