Running a small business can be extremely challenging. Business owners often work long hours while surviving on razor-thin profit margins. Maintaining a business can involve finding profitable revenue streams. Sometimes, after trying to keep a company going, an owner may end up facing allegations of fraud or other business-related crimes.
Recently in Baton Rouge, the owners of a now-shuttered in-home care company were indicted by a grand jury on a variety of felony charges. Allegedly, a mother and daughter who owned the company carried out a scheme over a six-year period defrauding Louisiana’s Medicaid program.
According to the 14 count indictment, the defendants billed for services that were not performed. The indictment also alleges that the pair paid patients to sign off on inaccurate employee time sheets.
The indictment states that during its existence, the company rang up over $5 million in billing from the state’s Medicaid program. Among the charges are theft by fraud, money laundering, racketeering and criminal conspiracy.
If your business practices come under scrutiny, you have several reasons for seeking experienced legal representation. First and foremost, you need to build a strong defense to minimize the potential punishment you may be facing. Additionally, being on the receiving end of allegations could have a profound and long-lasting impact on your reputation, which could severely hamper your future opportunities to make a living.
A Louisiana criminal attorney may be able to help protect your interests by going over the details of the allegations and investigating the circumstances of your case. The attorney could carefully assess the details of your situation and form a defense aimed at getting you the best possible outcome.
Source: The Dispatch, “Mother, daughter indicted in Medicaid fraud case,” Feb. 6, 2016