Employee of Local Medicaid Agency Sentenced for Federal Health Care Offenses

March 26, 2010 - NEW ORLEANS—UNA FAVORITE BROWN, age 54, a resident of New Orleans, and was sentenced yesterday in federal court by U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon to twenty-one (21) months' imprisonment for health care offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Lemmon ordered that BROWN pay restitution in the amount of $33,405, a special assessment of $1,300 and be placed on three (3) years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, during which time the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should she violate any terms of her supervised release.

According to court documents, a jury returned a guilty verdict on September 9, 2009, convicting BROWN of one count of conspiracy, ten (10) counts of health care fraud, and two (2) counts of false statements to federal law enforcement agents. Evidence introduced a trial showed that A New Beginning of New Orleans, Inc., was a Medicaid provider that made claims for Personal Care Services it claimed to have provided to Medicaid recipients. BROWN was an employee of A New Beginning who created false documentation causing Medicaid to pay for services that were not rendered.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Louisiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrice Harris Sullivan, Jordan Ginsberg, and G. Dall Kammer.