CHEYENNE, WYOMING RESIDENT SENTENCED FOR DEFRAUDING WYOMING MEDICAID

Joanna Michelle Phillips, 37, of Cheyenne, was sentenced in federal court in Cheyenne to a prison term for defrauding Wyoming Medicaid, announced United States Attorney Mark A. Klaassen. Phillips was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on October 2, 2018, to serve 18 months in prison, followed by 3 years supervised release. Phillips was ordered to pay $58,660.58 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for
Medicaid and Medicare Services and the Wyoming Department of Health, Division of Healthcare Financing. She was further ordered to pay $10,370.56 in restitution to the Wyoming Department of Family Services, Fraud and Recovery Unit.

Phillips previously pled guilty to four counts of health care fraud for submitting false bills to Medicaid between 2013 and 2016.

The Wyoming Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated this case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis J. Kirchhefer of the Wyoming Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Heimann of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming prosecuted the case.

Suspected fraud against Medicaid or Medicare can be reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477) and the agency’s website https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/. Wyoming residents can call the Wyoming Medicaid Fraud Control Unit toll free at 1-800-378-0345, or visit their website at http://ag.wyo.gov/medicaid-fraud-control-unit.