LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A judge sentenced a Las Vegas woman Tuesday to more than 14 years in federal prison after she was convicted of defrauding the North Carolina Medicaid Program by billing for fake home health services, officials said.
Latisha Harron, 44, also known as Latisha Holt, admitted to conspiring with her husband to obtain more than $13 million, court officials said. The money was spent on a private jet, jewelry and at least two homes.
In addition to the prison time, a judge ordered Harron to pay back nearly $13.4 million in restitution.
According to court documents, Harron operated a service called Agape Healthcare Systems out of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, billing the state’s Medicaid provider for home health services for deceased individuals.
According to court officials, Harron admitted to searching for obituary postings and using publicly available information to find a deceased person’s Medicaid identification number. Harron would then use the number to bill Medicaid, court records show.
“This case demonstrates the resolve of this office to bring healthcare fraud artists to justice – wherever they are found; pandemic or no pandemic,” Acting United States Attorney G. Norman Acker, III, said in a statement. “The ultimate reward of fraud is not a life of luxury, but years of life lost to federal prison.”
Harron previously lived in North Carolina and Maryland before moving to Las Vegas in 2017, officials said. According to court officials, Harron lives in a penthouse condo in Las Vegas.