A.G. Schneiderman Announces Guilty Plea Of Nurse Who Bilked Medicaid Out Of $30k

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently announced a guilty plea in the case of Sisteria Turner, 34, a Licensed Practical Nurse from Rochester, for stealing nearly $30,000 from the Medicaid program by billing for hundreds of hours of care that she did not provide. The hours were billed during the course of her work in providing private nursing services to disabled and special needs children.

“Exploiting the needs of disabled children for financial gain is inexcusable,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “When individuals defraud Medicaid, it diverts precious resources from those who need them the most. My office will keep working to root out Medicaid fraud and prosecute those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”

An investigation launched by Attorney General Schneiderman’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Office of the Medicaid Fraud Inspector General revealed that Sisteria Turner billed the Medicaid program repeatedly for work she never performed. In one case, Turner provided services to a medically fragile child for approximately one month in 2012 and then continued to bill for regular care throughout 2013 and 2014. In that case alone, Turner wrongfully obtained $26,630.35. In court today, Turner admitted that she illegally obtained Medicaid funds by submitting false claims involving four separate children.

Turner pled guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree before acting Monroe County Court Judge Melchor Castro. The matter is adjourned until September 22 for sentencing. In exchange for her plea of guilty, Turner will receive eight weekends in the Monroe County Jail and five years of probation; she must also repay the stolen money.

The case was investigated by Special Investigator Arthur Vasile with assistance from MFCU Deputy Chief Investigator William Falk, Senior Auditor/Investigator Jodie Dineen, and OMIG Investigator Colleen Belkin. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Sommers. Catherine Wagner is Director of the Rochester Regional MFCU Office and the Upstate Chief of Criminal Investigations. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is led by Acting Director Amy Held. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.