6-year prison sentence for ex-Carnival queen who owned company at center of massive Medicare fraud

6-year prison sentence for ex-Carnival queen who owned company at center of massive Medicare fraud case

A former Zulu Carnival queen who used to run a home health care company was sentenced Thursday to more than six years in prison for her role in an elaborate scam that swindled $30 million from the Medicare program.

A federal judge also ordered Lisa Crinel to pay more than $16 million and to spend three years under federal supervision following her release.

Crinel's punishment is the latest chapter in a legal saga that also ensnared another former Zulu queen, Sheila Mathieu, the mother of Arizona Cardinals player Tyrann Mathieu.

U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan ruled that Crinel's company, Abide Home Care Services, should also pay $16 million in restitution. She placed the firm on five years of probation.

Read more: http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/crime_police/article_aa1c2f5e-9f0a-11e7-9179-6f6a84d54e2c.html