Georgia Phillips, Medicaid Fraud Scheme, Texas 2024

A 67-year-old speech therapist and clinic owner has been found guilty of orchestrating a massive Medicaid fraud scheme that bled Texas taxpayers of more than $821,000. Georgia Phillips of Olmito, part-owner of Children’s First Pediatric Rehabilitation (CFPR) in Harlingen and Georgia M. Phillips LLC in Brownsville, was convicted by a federal judge on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen presided over a seven-day bench trial in September 2017, during which prosecutors laid out a damning case. Evidence revealed that Phillips conspired with the clinic’s biller to submit thousands of fraudulent claims to Texas Medicaid. Services billed for were either never provided, double-billed after prior payment, or grossly overcharged—cornerstone tactics in a long-running scam.

Between May 1, 2009, and May 31, 2012, CFPR and Georgia M. Phillips LLC submitted false claims totaling $821,145. The services in question—pediatric speech therapy—were allegedly rendered to Medicaid recipients, but records and testimony proved otherwise. Investigators uncovered systematic falsification of treatment logs, patient sign-ins, and billing codes designed to slip past oversight.

The defense argued that the fraud stemmed from sloppy, disorganized billing practices by the employee responsible for submissions. Judge Hanen rejected that explanation outright, calling the pattern of misconduct too consistent and too profitable to be accidental. The verdict: Georgia Phillips was fully aware and actively involved in the conspiracy.

Now facing the consequences, Phillips is set for sentencing on June 5, 2018. She remains free on bond, but the stakes are high—conspiracy to commit health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The court’s decision sends a message: exploiting public health programs for profit won’t go unpunished.

The investigation was a multi-agency effort led by the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with support from the Department of Health and Human Services–Office of Inspector General, FBI, and Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Day and Andrew Swartz handled prosecution, closing the case with a conviction that underscores the federal crackdown on health care fraud in South Texas.

RELATED: Juwaun Evans Gets 8 Years for NW D.C. Sexual Assault

RELATED: GA Meth Kingpin Shawn Phillips Sentenced to Life in Prison