Las Vegas woman sentenced for bilking $13M out of Medicaid
A Las Vegas woman who pleaded guilty to bilking North Carolina Medicaid out of $13 million for the purchase of airplanes, vehicles, property and luxury jewelry was sentenced Tuesday to more than 14 years in prison.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina says Latisha Harron, 44, was also ordered to pay $13.4 million in restitution to North Carolina Medicaid.
Harron and her husband, Timothy Harron, 52, of Las Vegas, previously pleaded guilty to multiple felonies including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. The couple operated a portion of the scheme out of a penthouse condominium in Las Vegas. The scheme was run under the company name Agape Healthcare Systems, Inc., which was presented to the state as a Medicaid home health provider.
The couple, federal prosecutors said, would scour online obituaries and obtain personal information about a deceased individual. They would then backbill North Carolina Medicaid, through Agape, for home health services that were never provided.
The couple used the stolen money to buy a British Aerospace Bae 125-800A Aircraft; a 2017 Aston Martin DB 11 sports car; a 2016 Ford F-150 SuperCrew pickup truck; real property held in the name of Assured Healthcare Systems in Hertford County, North Carolina; real property in Charles County, Maryland; and designer jewelry.
Latisha Harron is also known as Latisha Reese Holt. Timothy Harron is awaiting sentencing in the case.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.