⏱ 2 min read
Gwendolyn Singleton, a 55-year-old woman from Guilford County, pleaded guilty to health care fraud in connection with a scheme to bill North Carolina Medicaid for over $1.7 million in urine drug tests that were never performed. The scam took place between June 2021 and March 2023 at Joelle’s Center of Hope in Greensboro, where Singleton was the owner and operator. The center claimed to provide substance abuse treatment, including urine drug tests, but Medicaid was reimbursed for tests that were never ordered by medical professionals.
Singelton’s scheme involved submitting fraudulent claims directly to Medicaid, with a nurse practitioner and a doctor listed as the ordering providers. However, both providers reported that they never ordered any urine drug tests for Joelle’s Center of Hope. As a result, Medicaid reimbursed the center over $1.7 million.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, North Carolina Attorney General’s Office-Medicaid Investigations Division, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Singleton faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a period of supervised release of up to three years, and monetary penalties at her sentencing on October 22, 2026.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Waid and Eric Iverson and Special Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Spillman. Singleton’s guilty plea marks a significant victory in the fight against health care fraud in North Carolina.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Defendant: North Carolina
- Location: NC
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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