Press Release

Plea Resolves One of Largest Medicaid Fraud Cases in State History

August 17, 2009

Anchorage, Alaska - One of the greatest known defrauders of Alaska Medicaid services agreed to plead guilty today in Superior Court, resolving the case.

Sherry T. Trotter, president of On Call Nursing of Alaska, pled guilty to a consolidated felony theft charge and was sentenced to 36 months in prison, with 28 months suspended, and was ordered to pay more than $800,000 in restitution. The sentence also includes 10 years of probation.

In 2002, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) received complaints about the services provided by On Call Nursing. The department investigated and forwarded those complaints to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Department of Law, which discovered a theft of more than $1.3 million based on various schemes to circumvent DHSS billing procedures. A grand jury indicted Trotter and her company in 2005.

DHSS withheld more than $500,000 in payments from On Call Nursing in 2003, and those funds served to reduce Trotter's restitution to the $809,028 ordered today by Superior Court Judge Larry D. Card. But the total amount stolen by the company makes this the largest known Medicaid fraud case in the 17-year history of the fraud control unit.

"Medicaid fraud impacts not only the state and federal programs involved, but it also steals assets from program recipients who depend on Medicaid for life-enhancing services," said Attorney General Dan Sullivan. "The state will continue to be vigilant and investigate claims of fraud in this important program."

# # #

Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.