Former business owner sentenced to year in jail for Medicaid fraud

MANKATO — A Mankato woman who made $600,000 in fraudulent Medicaid claims says she was struggling to keep her business afloat and didn't want her clients with disabilities to go without care.

Rebecca Swanson, 51, owned a small business providing personal care assistants, or PCAs, to people with disabilities. She was sentenced Monday in Blue Earth County District Court on charges she deployed unqualified PCAs and submitted false Medicare reimbursement claims.

Swanson pleaded guilty to six felony counts of theft by false representation in February. Twelve counts of the same charge were dismissed.

Judge Bradley Walker issued a sentence that mirrored the plea deal proposal. She'll spend a year in jail and pay $601,000 in restitution.

Read more: http://www.mankatofreepress.com/news/local_news/former-business-owner-sentenced-to-year-in-jail-for-medicaid/article_2ab48620-4a42-11e7-b255-53e31b43ca60.html