Attorney General Moody Announces Arrest of Respiratory Therapist Falsifying Medicaid Reports and Stealing Thousands

Attorney General Moody Announces Arrest of Respiratory Therapist Falsifying Medicaid Reports and Stealing Thousands

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-Attorney General Ashley Moody is announcing the arrest of a respiratory therapist who defrauded the Florida Medicaid program. Attorney General Moody's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with the assistance of the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, arrested Desiree Maddox on one count of Medicaid provider fraud. Maddox falsified documentation to bilk Medicaid out of more than $4,000. Maddox worked for a home health care agency, EZ Inspiration, and provided respiratory therapy to a child Medicaid recipient and submitted timesheets for services never provided.

Attorney General Ashley Moodysaid, "The defendant stopped providing respiratory therapy services to a child Medicaid recipient, despite the patient's ongoing need for treatment, and continued to bill for services not rendered. This is unacceptable and I am thankful for my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit stopping this fraud."

According to the MFCU investigation, the owner of EZ Inspiration learned from the recipient's doctor that the child was no longer receiving respiratory therapy despite having an ongoing need for it. When questioned, the family of the child believed that the services formerly provided by Maddox had been terminated. However, Maddox continued to submit timesheets and service notes to EZ Inspirations for four months after not providing the therapy.

Maddox faces one count of Medicaid provider fraud, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The State Attorney's Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit will prosecute this case.

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