TWO RUTHERFORD CO. WOMEN CONVICTED OF TENNCARE FRAUD

NASHVILLE – Two Rutherford County women have been convicted of TennCare fraud. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) today announced that Regina Ann Clark, 44, of Smyrna pleaded guilty to ten counts of TennCare fraud and five counts of fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs. She was charged with calling in her own prescriptions, presenting herself as an employee in a physician’s office. Clark phoned in prescriptions under the name of both herself and her grandmother for two painkillers, butalbital caffeine and codeine hydrocodone, the sedative clonazepam and the anti-biotic cephalexin.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Chad Jackson of Rutherford County. Clark was ordered to repay TennCare for the benefits she used fraudulently as well as $2600 in court fines, and due to her conviction will loose her TennCare benefits. After serving six months in jail, she will be on probation for the remainder of her ten-year sentence. If she violates her probation she could be ordered to serve the remainder of her sentence.

In an unrelated case, Brenda Lee Reed, 44, of Lascassas in Rutherford County pleaded guilty in Nashville to a charge of attempting to commit medical assistance fraud and one count of theft, both of which were Class A misdemeanors. Reed was accused of falsifying her TennCare application by failing to disclose her husband’s income in order to obtain TennCare benefits. She was placed on almost a year of probation, signed a voluntary disenrollment from TennCare for a period of two years and pay restitution of the benefits she fraudulently gained, valued at over $8,000.

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.”