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Attorney General Landry Makes Medicaid Fraud Arrests, Reaffirms Commitment to Fighting Fraud

BATON ROUGE, LA - Attorney General Jeff Landry announced today that Veronica Thomas, Glenn Combs, and Cheryl Sowers have been arrested by his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. These arrests come on the heels of a study being released that ranked Louisiana 7th in the country in regards to Medicare waste spending.

“The rise in fraud throughout the Medicaid and Medicare systems has skyrocketed, and the Governor’s expansion will only perpetuate the problem in Louisiana,” said General Landry. “Though Medicare is a strictly federal program, our office will continue to do all we can at the state level to go after fraudsters attempting to take advantage of programs intended to help our vulnerable.”

Thomas, 47 of Oakdale, was arrested on five counts of Medicaid Fraud for allegedly working with a patient that was shown to have been hospitalized during the time she claimed she was with him. Combs, 38 of Ruston, was arrested on three counts of Medicaid Fraud for allegedly submitting time sheets and service logs for services not rendered. Sowers, 48 of Ruston, was arrested on three counts of Medicaid Fraud for allegedly submitting time sheets and service logs for services not rendered. All three were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

“Our investigators work tirelessly to uncover, investigate, and arrest criminals who defraud Medicaid,” continued General Landry. “We are committed to continuing this national award-winning work to ensure the citizens of Louisiana are protected from fraud.

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The Council for Medicare Integrity study, based on information gathered in fiscal year 2015, compared the number of Medicare beneficiaries in a state to the amount of Medicare overpayments collected from providers. Their findings showed Medicare waste per beneficiary in Louisiana was $15.41. To view the complete report, visit http://medicareintegrity.org/top-10-states-with-highest-medicare-waste-2/.