A federal jury has convicted a Louisiana nurse practitioner for her central role in a brazen healthcare fraud scheme that bilked Medicare out of more than $2 million in taxpayer funds.
Shanone Chatman-Ashley, 45, of Opelousas, was found guilty Thursday on five counts of health care fraud after prosecutors presented evidence that she orchestrated a wide-ranging scam involving fraudulent telehealth services and medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME).
According to the DOJ’s press release, Chatman-Ashley was an enrolled Medicare provider and worked as an independent contractor for telehealth companies between 2017 and 2019.
Prosecutors said she ordered more than 1,000 pieces of DME — including knee braces and suspension sleeves — for elderly and disabled patients she never examined. In many cases, these individuals had never even spoken to her.
Chatman-Ashley allegedly falsified records to make it appear she had conducted personal assessments, certifying that the equipment was medically necessary.
Her bogus certifications triggered over $2 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, resulting in more than $1 million in improper reimbursements. In return, she received illegal kickbacks and bribes from the telehealth companies that benefited from the scheme.
Chatman-Ashley now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal