Grand Jury Indicts Mother, Daughter for Medicaid Fraud
February 3, 2022
(Anchorage, AK) – An Anchorage grand jury this week indicted a mother and daughter accused of collaborating in a scheme to defraud the state’s Medicaid program.
The indictment alleges that Tonya Lynn Steichen, 48, of Anchorage, and Carole Rose Lampl, 27, of Las Vegas, Nevada, engaged in “travel billing” and “overlap billing” fraud schemes. Lampl was a personal-care attendant to her mother who received reimbursement from the state Medicaid program for the healthcare services she provided.
“Travel billing” refers to billing Medicaid for face-to-face services which could not have been performed because the recipient and the provider were physically located in two different communities on the claimed date of service. In this case, the charges allege that Steichen and Lampl submitted bills for Medicaid reimbursement for face-to-face services which could not have been performed because either Steichen was travelling within Alaska or elsewhere around the country while Lampl was in Anchorage, or Lampl was travelling and Steichen was in Alaska.In addition, the pair continued to bill the program after Lampl had moved to Las Vegas in late 2018.
“Overlap billing” refers to submitting claims for Medicaid reimbursement for services that could not have been provided because either the provider or the recipient were receiving hourly wages from an employer for a different job on the claimed dates of service. In this case, the indictment alleges that Lampl held another job and billed Medicaid for services she supposedly performed for Steichen while Lampl was also working at her other job.
The total amount of fraud alleged in the indictment is $12,945.15.
The grand jury charged the pair with Scheme to Defraud, two counts of Medical Assistance Fraud, Theft in the Second Degree and Falsifying Business Records. All five counts are felonies.
The charges in the indictment are only allegations and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
CONTACT: Assistant Attorney General Arne Soldwedel at (907) 269-6279 or arne.soldwedel@alaska.gov
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Department Media Contact: Communications Director Aaron Sadler.
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