TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — A federal grand jury in Topeka has indicted a Lawrence woman and three residents of Florida in connection to a scheme to defraud Medicare on Friday.
Fawn Lickteig, 42, of Lawrence, Steven Churchill, 36, and Elaine Balsamo, 58, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Samson Solomon, 25, of Margate, Florida were charged with the following crimes:
- One count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud
- Eight counts of health care fraud
- Six counts of mail fraud
- Four counts of wire fraud
Churchill and Balsamo were also charged with four counts of money laundering.
The four are accused of establishing a fraudulent mail-order pharmacy, despite claiming to be a retail pharmacy. Between Feb. 2020 and 2021.
Prosecutors say the defendants used Freestate Pharmacy to submit false claims to Medicare for prescriptions for patients who had not spoken with the doctor and had not requested the medication.
An investigation is ongoing. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the FBI are investigating the case.