ROBERTSON CO. WOMAN ARRESTED FOR STEALING IDENTITY OF TENNCARE ENROLLEE

NASHVILLE – A Robertson County woman has been charged with identity theft and the fact that the victim is a TennCare enrollee is what tipped off officials.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed today that authorities hit a computer match between a TennCare enrollee and a woman employed in Springfield who had insurance through her employer. After questioning the enrollee, Special Agents contacted the employer, finding a woman whose name and social security number matched that of the enrollee – but the photo in her personnel file told a different story.

Josefina Morales Andrade was charged with knowingly obtaining, possessing and using the personal identifying information of someone other than herself with the intent to commit an unlawful act without the consent of the actual person. Additional TennCare charges against Andrade are pending. Andrade has been using the identity of the enrollee since September 2, 2002.

"We have a number of ways to gain fraud information including computer data mining, such as matching TennCare enrollee data with and employer information filed with the state,” Inspector General Deborah Faulkner said. “Some of our best tips still come to us from the TennCare fraud hotline and the Web site, and we’re also getting very solid cases from local law enforcement officials across Tennessee.”

District Attorney John Carney will prosecute the case. If convicted, Andrade could face up to four years in prison for this class D felony.

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.”