O'Fallon Nurse Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud
Diana L. Van Etten, 34, of O’Fallon, pled guilty in federal court on June 20, 2012, to an
Indictment charging her with Health Care Fraud, the United States Attorney for the Southern District
of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10
years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and not more than 3 years of supervised release. Sentencing is
scheduled for Friday, October 5, 2012.
At the time of the offense, Van Etten was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in the State of
Illinois. From in and around 2010, through January 12, 2012, Van Etten was employed as a nurse
at Caseyville Nursing Home, in Caseyville, Illinois. While she worked at Caseyville Nursing Home,
Van Etten would sign Hydrocodone out as if she were giving it to nursing home residents, but she
would consume the Hydrocodone herself. She would fax false prescription requests for
Hydrocodone to the pharmacy and would steal whole cards of Hydrocodone that were supposed to
go to residents. Van Etten also diverted Hydrocodone for her personal use from numerous nursing
home residents. In this way, Van Etten caused eleven false claims to be submitted to the Illinois
Medicaid Program for fraudulent prescriptions.
The case was investigated by agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General and the Illinois State Police - Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau.
The case
is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Quinley.
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 call 1-800-447-8477.
