Pueblo woman charged with stealing $577K from Medicaid in fraudulent telemedicine billing
Oct. 28, 2022 (DENVER)—Attorney General Phil Weiser today announced that the Colorado Department of Law has filed charges against a Pueblo woman for submitting Medicaid claims and being paid for telemedicine services that she never provided.
An investigation by the department’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found that on or between March 3, 2020, and April 12, 2020, Renee Fasano, 46, owner of Southern Colorado Telehealth, routinely filed claims and received Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth services that were not provided. According to the arrest warrant affidavit filed in Pueblo County District Court, Fasano took the Medicaid billing information for patients seen at Castillo Primary Care where she previously worked as a biller and used that information to submit fraudulent bills to Medicaid indicating that the patients had also been seen at her company. The total value of the theft is approximately $577,935.82.
Fasano is charged with two counts of Medicaid fraud, one count a class three felony and one a class five felony.
“Those who steal from our Medicaid system take money away from some of those in our state who need it most to ensure they have proper medical care,” Weiser said. “My office will continue to hold accountable those who seek to take advantage of such a critical service.”
The case is filed in Pueblo County District Court and the case number is 2022CR1418.
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is dedicated to protecting the integrity of the system that provides healthcare to the most vulnerable Coloradans. It accomplishes this through the investigation and prosecution of Medicaid provider fraud as well as the investigation and prosecution of the abuse and neglect of Medicaid clients in non-institutional settings as well as the abuse and neglect of patients in institutions that receive Medicaid dollars. To report potential Medicaid fraud, click here or call (720) 508-6696.
The filing of criminal charges is a formal accusation that an individual committed a crime under Colorado laws. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
###