Indianapolis woman sentenced to over 5 years for fraud, tax evasion
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis woman was sentenced to spend five and a half years behind bars for stealing $2.3 million in fraud and tax evasion schemes.
Leslie Smith, 63, was sentenced to five and a half years in federal prison, followed by two years of probation after pleading guilty to health care fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. Smith must also pay $2, 341,655.08 in restitution, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office from the Southern District of Indiana.
According to court documents, Smith, who was a licensed attorney in Wisconsin, engaged in multiple fraud schemes against her employer, relatives, and the government for years.
Smith was employed as the office manager for a podiatry practice in Indianapolis. For years, she had submitted 288 fraudulent claims for reimbursement to Medicaid for oxygen monitoring devices that were ordered without the knowledge or consent of her employer.
Smith received $559,197.67 from Medicaid on these false claims, also causing $1,194,942.07 in Medicaid payments to be deposited to her personal bank account.
After Smith was charged in federal court with healthcare fraud, she fraudulently obtained COVID-19 mortgage assistance funds for a home on Kessler Boulevard in Indianapolis. In the application documents, Smith lied and said that she was the homeowner but in reality, the owner was a relative of Smith who died in 2020.
The 63-year-old also sold a home in Indianapolis that she jointly owned with another person for $380,000 without the consent or knowledge of the co-owner. She had reportedly forged the co-owner’s signature on certain key documents, which allowed her to keep the entire profit of the sale.
Smith did not file federal income tax returns from 2018-2021, failing to report $1,299,179.02 in income. She made false tax returns for her employer and included all of her payments from Medicaid as income for her employer, to hide she was fraudulently receiving money from Medicaid, a release said.
Statements
“This criminal used her position of trust to lie, cheat, and steal from patients, her employer, and the public—fraudulently lining her pockets with over a million dollars intended to provide healthcare to disadvantaged Hoosiers,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana in a release. “She continued to engage in new fraud schemes even while facing federal charges, demonstrating an utter disregard for the rule of law. Working together with our partners at Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, FBI, HHS-OIG, and the Indiana Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, our office is committed to protecting the public by unravelling complex schemes and holding fraudsters accountable. The federal prison sentence imposed here demonstrates that serious financial crimes will result in serious consequences.”
“This case originated from our office’s data mining efforts and confirms the importance of using every technology tool available to bring fraudsters to justice – even perpetrators who hide in the plain sight of a doctor’s office,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita in a release. “A special thanks to our Investigator Dan Shragal and Fraud Analyst Sarah Simpson for putting their foot down and ending this podiatrist staff member’s practice of sending millions of dollars in Medicaid payments to their own personal bank account.”
“Leslie Smith not only stole from American taxpayers, but her unbridled greed also betrayed her employer’s trust, shattering the fabric of trust that holds a workplace together,” said Justin Campbell, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office, in a release. “This prison sentence should serve as a stark reminder of the profound consequences of greed and deception.”
“Through the defendant’s egregious scheme to defraud the Indiana Medicaid program, she placed personal profits ahead of legitimate care and knowingly stole valuable taxpayer funds intended to provide resources for vulnerable populations in need of assistance,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), in a release. “HHS-OIG values the continued collaboration with the Indiana Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, along with other federal law enforcement partners, and believes today’s sentence sends a strong message that those convicted of defrauding federal and state healthcare programs will be held accountable.”
