Licensed Practical Nurse Admits Defrauding The Medicaid Program

Press Release

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced that a Licensed Practical Nurse has pleaded guilty to stealing from the Medicaid Program by billing for services she never provided to a child Medicaid recipient.

Appearing on November 21 before Judge Richard A. Molea in Westchester County Supreme Court, Marie Gilles, 55, of Mount Vernon, pleaded guilty to one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree. As part of her plea, she admitted that she had stolen over $715,000 from the State by submitting Medicaid claims over the course of a decade which falsely represented that she had provided home care to a developmentally challenged child suffering from several conditions, including cerebral palsy.

Judge Molea stated that he intended to sentence Gilles to state prison for a term of from one to three years and order Gilles to pay restitution to the state in the amount of over $1 million, which includes interest on the amount stolen. He adjourned the case to February 27, 2007, for sentencing.

As part of the Attorney General’s investigation, Gilles was placed under surveillance, the results of which were used to confront Maria Ortiz, the child’s mother, who then admitted to being involved in a kickback scam with Gilles. Maria Ortiz pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree on December 12th, 2005.

Special Assistant Attorney General Gilbert Epstein, of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s Pearl River Regional Office, is prosecuting this case. Assisting in the investigation were Special Investigator Dennis Johnston and Special Auditor/investigator John Annunziata.

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