FOUR CONVICTED OF TENNCARE FRAUD

THREE WERE CHARGED IN 2005 CLAY COUNTY STING

NASHVILLE – Four TennCare fraud convictions are on the books today, including a Mississippi woman accused of using a TennCare enrollee’s benefits to obtaining an addictive painkiller.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) today announced that Kimberly Jane Wright, 33, of Hernando, Mississippi was convicted of six counts of fraud in connection with obtaining hydrocodone paid for by TennCare. Wright, who was not a TennCare enrollee, was charged for using an enrollee’s benefits to obtain the drugs. She was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1,366.32 to TennCare. District Attorney Elizabeth Rice of Tipton County prosecuted the case against Wright.

Three people charged last year in a Clay County undercover drug sting have pleaded guilty to TennCare fraud. The three were arrested in separate incidents for selling prescription drugs to undercover officers; it was later discovered that the prescription drugs were paid for by TennCare before they were resold to an informant.

Carolyn Boles, sometimes known as Carolyn Webb, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of TennCare fraud, receiving a four year suspended sentence to run concurrent with other related drug charges. Boles had allegedly sold the painkillers hydrocodone and oycodone paid for by TennCare

George Lorenzo Melton, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of TennCare fraud and received a two year suspended sentence with supervised probation and he has voluntarily given up his TennCare benefits for three years. Melton allegedly sold the painkiller morphine, paid for by TennCare.

Stanley York, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of TennCare fraud and received a two year sentence to run concurrent with other drug charges. York also surrendered his TennCare benefits for three years. York allegedly sold to an undercover informant both morphine and Avinza, which is an extended-release version of morphine, both paid for by TennCare.

District Attorney William Gibson prosecuted all three Clay County cases.

“Drug diversion – or the selling of prescription drugs on the street – is a problem in Tennessee communities, and it’s especially troublesome when TennCare pays for the drugs,” Inspector General Deborah Y. Faulkner said. “We’re working with local law enforcement agencies in a number of counties, as they are often the first to get on the trail of people selling prescription drugs.”

Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tennessee.gov/tenncare and follow the prompts that read “Report Fraud Now.”