A federal jury in Lafayette, Louisiana, has convicted Shanone Chatman-Ashley, a nurse practitioner from Opelousas, for her participation in a healthcare fraud scheme totaling over $2 million. The trial, presided over by United States District Judge David C. Joseph, concluded with Chatman-Ashley's conviction on charges of health care fraud related to false Medicare claims.
Chatman-Ashley, who was indicted in December 2023, faced five counts of healthcare fraud. Evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that she was enrolled as a Medicare provider and worked as an independent contractor for companies claiming to provide telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries. Chatman-Ashley was found guilty of ordering unnecessary medical equipment, such as knee braces, for patients she had not examined. This included cases where equipment was ordered for patients with conditions rendering the equipment irrelevant, such as a left knee brace ordered for a patient whose left leg was amputated.
The court documents revealed that between 2017 and 2019, Chatman-Ashley issued over 1,000 unnecessary orders, leading to fraudulent claims exceeding $2 million and yielding over $1 million in Medicare reimbursements. In return, she received kickbacks and bribes from the contracting companies.
"This defendant not only defrauded the Medicare Program but went against everything the medical profession stands for," stated U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. "She took advantage of beneficiaries who were elderly and handicapped to order items for them that were not medically necessary."
Jason E. Meadows, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, highlighted the detrimental impact of such schemes on medical decision-making processes. "Illegal kickback payments undermine and corrupt the medical decision-making process," he said.
Chatman-Ashley faces a potential maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison for each count of health care fraud. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 31, 2025.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorney Danny Siefker of the Western District of Louisiana with Trial Attorney Kelly Z. Walters from the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section of the Criminal Division.