A woman from Edinburg, Texas, Cynthia Ann Herrera, 48, has been arrested and charged with health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges are related to a scheme aimed at defrauding the Texas Medicaid Program, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced.
Herrera is scheduled to have her initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan Alanis. Her arrest followed the unsealing of an indictment returned on April 15, which alleges she submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for prescriptions not prescribed by any doctor. The claims, submitted between 2018 and 2024, led to over $2 million in payments from Medicaid. The indictment asserts that she used doctors' personal information without consent to carry out the fraud.
The charges against Herrera include six counts of health care fraud, each carrying a potential 10-year sentence and a fine of up to $250,000. Additionally, she faces six counts of aggravated identity theft. Conviction on these charges would lead to a mandatory two-year sentence to be served consecutively with any other sentence.
Several agencies participated in the investigation, including the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General (OIG), FBI, the Health and Human Services Commission - OIG, the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Texas Department of Insurance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarina S. DiPiazza and Theodore Parran III are overseeing the prosecution.
It is important to note that an indictment is not proof of guilt. The defendant, in this case, remains innocent unless found guilty through due legal process.