Ohio Woman’s $8.5M Medicare Scam Lands Her in Hot Water
Sharon Romaine Ward, 52, of West Chester, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to fraudulently billing more than $8.5 million to Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Affairs home healthcare programs between 2015 and 2021.
Ward admitted to concealing her ownership of Halo Home Healthcare in 2015, despite having a prior felony conviction in 2013 for passing forged and fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone while serving as a nurse practitioner in Warren County.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ward faces up to ten years in prison for healthcare fraud and up to three years for making a false income tax return. However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has recommended that the prison term for healthcare fraud does not exceed five years.
Ward’s company, Halo Home Healthcare, overbilled federal healthcare programs, charging for services not performed, and hired employees with significant criminal histories. In one instance, the company continued to bill Medicaid for home health services while the patient was hospitalized.
The Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Health Care Fraud Section investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo represented the United States in this case. As part of the plea agreement, Ward will pay restitution to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ohio Department of Medicaid, as well as prepare and file corrected business tax returns with the IRS.
The IRS determined a tax loss of $81,617. Ward’s guilty plea marks the end of a years-long investigation into the healthcare scam, which bilked millions from Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Affairs programs.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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