A Johnson County woman was ordered last week to repay more than $6,000 to the Kansas Medicaid program after being found guilty of Medicaid fraud, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
Constance L. Ferreira, 61, pleaded guilty in August to one felony count of making a false claim to the Medicaid program.
Johnson County District Court Judge Timothy P. McCarthy last week ordered Ferreira to repay $6,460.14 to the Kansas Medicaid Program. Judge McCarthy also sentenced her to 12 months of probation with an underlying sentence of nine months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Convictions such as this one may also result in a period during which the defendant is prohibited from being paid wages through a government health care program, according to the attorney general’s office.
Ferreira was a personal care attendant to a disabled Medicaid eligible beneficiary.
An investigation revealed that Ferreira billed Medicaid for services she claimed she provided to him in the home while he was in the hospital or in rehabilitation 89 times for a total of 760 hours, according to the attorney general’s office. The crimes occurred between January 2012 and January 2016.
The case was investigated by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division. Assistant Attorney General Alma Heckler of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case against Ferreira.