A Macomb, Michigan, woman has been charged in a Medicaid fraud that involved the use of a manipulated smartphone to submit reimbursement claims, according to the Department of Attorney General.
Alicia Renee Hacket, 33, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Medicaid fraud and ten counts of making false claims in Medicaid fraud.
According to state officials, the Medicaid program provides mileage reimbursement to participants when they travel to medical appointments. A smartphone app is sometimes used to track mileage to appointments using the phone's GPS. The reimbursement payment is added to a payment card when a trip is complete.
Hackett allegedly used a different app to trick her phone into thinking it was somewhere it was not, "And submitted reimbursement requests for trips that never took place," the attorney general's office said.
She was arrested on Thursday by the Clare County Sheriff's Office.
Hackett's bond was set at $50,000 with a 10% surety required, officials said. Her next court hearing is scheduled for June 18.
"The exploitation of technology intended to help some of our state's most vulnerable residents access medical care is absolutely shameful," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a written statement. "The answer to tackling such fraud is not to cut off care for those who need it, but to hold perpetrators accountable. That means rooting out waste and abuse, investing in enforcement and pursuing those who exploit the system."
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