PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced that Jessica Scott, 38, of Rapid City, has been ordered to pay $42,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to one count of Grand Theft by Embezzlement.
Scott, a former board member at the Adult Day Center of the Black Hills, altered billing documents, leading to over $477,000 in overpayments from the South Dakota Medicaid Program, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the South Dakota Department of Human Services.
In April, Scott changed her plea to guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison, all suspended, and 180 days in the Pennington County Jail, with 90 days suspended.
The restitution, paid on the day of sentencing, will go to the Adult Day Center, which had to reimburse $114,000 to Medicaid and $362,000 to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Additionally, multiple veterans who paid insurance copays for unreceived services will be compensated. The $42,000 will cover expenses not reimbursed in other ways.
“This defendant violated the trust of Adult Day Center, the agencies involved, and most importantly, the people she served,” said Attorney General Jackley. “Thank you to the participating agencies for working together to resolve this issue.”
This investigation was a collaborative effort involving the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, federal agents from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Rapid City Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Unit.
