Gambling ‘addict’ accused in $1M theft from Medicaid program
by Jim Mustian
June 05, 2013
A former state Department of Health and Hospitals accountant with a history of gambling addiction was arrested Tuesday on accusations she swindled more than $1 million from the state’s Medicaid program — money authorities said was spent at area casinos.
The accountant, Deborah C. Loper, allegedly diverted the funds over a period of six years in a scheme that shocked unwitting colleagues and revealed weaknesses in department policy.
“Everybody trusted her,” said Kathy Kliebert, the interim DHH secretary. “Nobody had any real indication at all that there was any kind of a problem.”
A 14-page arrest warrant accuses Loper, 46, 9642 Hardwood Drive, of intercepting more than 130 checks payable to DHH and depositing them into an account she had been instructed to close several years ago.
She was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on counts of theft by fraud, money laundering and malfeasance in office, authorities said.
A law enforcement search of Loper’s home and vehicle turned up receipts tied to the account as well as casino player cards, according to court filings.
Bank records associated with the account show more than $817,000 in transactions made at area casinos.
State officials, seeking to recoup the stolen funds, have filed suit against Loper and Capital One, the bank where the money was deposited.
“Ms. Loper squandered hundreds of thousands of tax dollars meant for invaluable health care services for Louisiana’s Medicaid recipients and used her position as a public servant for her own personal gain,” Attorney General Buddy Caldwell said in a prepared statement.
He said Loper would be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”
Loper, in her role at DHH, had been entrusted to manage a bank account opened in 2006 on behalf of the National Association of State Human Services Financial Officers in order to facilitate that association’s 2009 conference, the warrant said.
Stan Mead, the former DHH fiscal director, volunteered to hold the conference and designated Loper and her immediate supervisor, Jeff Reynolds, to organize it, according to the warrant.
Loper was responsible for management of the account “and had complete authority to conduct legitimate financial transactions” on the association’s behalf, the warrant said.
She was told to close the account after the conference, authorities said, but fabricated documents making it appear it had been closed and also changed the address on the account so she could receive monthly statements at her home.
Between March 2007 and January, authorities said, Loper deposited checks totaling $1,058,446 made payable to DHH, Medicaid Payment Management Section and Medicaid refunds. Those funds had been intended as Medicaid reimbursements.
Loper’s scheme apparently went unnoticed until February, when she inadvertently deposited one of the checks — for more than $40,000 — into her account, an oversight she at first sought to explain away as an accidental deposit made by her secretary, the warrant said.
Loper abruptly resigned her position at DHH after learning the account had been frozen.
Her attorney, Steven Moore, later told DHH officials the department should review a Capital One bank account Loper had been affiliated with, the warrant said.
“The fact that a state employee was able to steal over a million dollars of taxpayer money is shocking enough,” Inspector General Stephen Street said in a statement. “Of particular concern to us are the conditions that allowed Ms. Loper to engage in this scheme over a period of years without being detected.”
Kliebert said DHH has taken steps to safeguard against future embezzlements, implementing new internal controls and hiring William W. Root, a former federal agent, to conduct internal audits.
Root has met with DHH’s internal departments to identify risk areas and has established some new positions, Kliebert said.
“You had somebody in a position to know how to get around those policies,” Kliebert said of Loper.
“So now our focus will be on how do we have enough checks and balances, enough controls to make sure that we don’t give that much authority and ability to one person to be able to get around those policies.”
http://theadvocate.com/home/6161587-125/gambling-addict-accused-in-1m
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment