RALEIGH, N.C. – A Greensboro, North Carolina woman, Sharita Mathis Richardson, was sentenced today to 22 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit health care fraud. On March 25, 2021, Richardson pleaded guilty to the charge. As part of sentencing, Richardson was also ordered to pay $2,005,531 in criminal restitution to the North Carolina Fund for Medical Assistance.

“This defendant conspired with others to steal millions in federal funding intended to provide health care to those in need,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Our office will continue to bring those who abuse and misuse taxpayer funds to justice.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, between approximately 2012 and 2016, Richardson conspired with Antonio Fozard and others to defraud the North Carolina Medicaid system through the submission of over $4 million in false and fraudulent claims for the reimbursement of behavioral health services. Medicaid is a federally funded health care benefit program that helps pay for medical-related services for low-income individuals and their families. In North Carolina, Medicaid is administered by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Benefits.

Fozard owned and operated a number of behavioral health companies that purported to provide services to Medicaid beneficiaries in the Middle and Eastern Districts of North Carolina. These companies included Group...