Sheila Harris, TRICARE Wire Fraud, HI 2024

Sheila Harris, 51, of Honolulu, is accused of orchestrating a $1.2 million wire fraud and identity theft scheme against TRICARE, the military health benefits program, by billing for speech therapy services never rendered. The former owner and operator of Harris Therapy, Inc., entered not guilty pleas in federal court today on a 13-count indictment returned January 4, 2017, marking a hard fall for a woman once trusted to care for military families’ children.

The indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury, charges Harris with eleven counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors allege that from at least 2010 through 2012, Harris submitted fraudulent claims to TRICARE for speech therapy services provided to minor dependents of military personnel—services that never took place. Patients’ names were used to justify billing, while actual treatment logs were either falsified or nonexistent.

Harris didn’t act alone on paper—she listed a licensed speech therapist as the provider on claims, even though that therapist was on maternity leave and played no role in the alleged services. By using the therapist’s name and identifying information without consent, Harris escalated the crime into federal identity theft, carrying a mandatory two-year prison sentence per count if convicted. The scheme unraveled after a beneficiary filed a complaint with TRICARE, prompting an audit by Triwest, the program’s regional administrator.

During the audit, Harris allegedly doubled down on deception, submitting forged documentation to Triwest in a calculated effort to conceal the fraud. Investigators say the false records were designed to mimic legitimate patient files, complete with fabricated dates of service and treatment notes. The audit ultimately exposed the discrepancies, triggering a joint investigation by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If found guilty, Harris faces up to 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and a mandatory minimum of two years for each aggravated identity theft charge—consecutive sentencing that could put her behind bars for decades. The indictment also includes forfeiture allegations aimed at clawing back the full $1.2 million in alleged ill-gotten gains from the scheme.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca A. Perlmutter. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield has set the trial for May 16, 2017, before Senior District Judge Helen Gillmor. As of now, Harris remains presumed innocent. But the evidence paints a damning picture of betrayal—at the expense of wounded warriors’ families and the taxpayers who fund their care.