A Smithville woman, charged with TennCare fraud involving “doctor shopping,” or using TennCare to go to multiple doctors in a short time period to obtain controlled substances, pleaded guilty in DeKalb County Criminal Court Friday.
Under a negotiated settlement, 27 year old Krista Mahaney pleaded guilty to TennCare fraud. Judge Leon Burns, Jr. sentenced her to two years, all suspended to supervised probation, She must make restitution to TennCare in the amount of $1,113 and she will lose her TennCare benefits.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), in a joint investigation with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, announced the arrest of Mahaney in January. She was originally charged with two counts of fraudulently using TennCare to obtain controlled substances by “doctor shopping.”
The charges accused Mahaney of seeing more than one physician within a 30-day period for the purpose of getting prescriptions for Suboxone, a drug used to treat heroin addiction by mimicking the effects of the drug without the addictive qualities. The physician office visits and the medications were paid for by TennCare.
“The unauthorized use and abuse of prescription drugs is a serious crime, and it’s compounded when TennCare is used to subsidize the activity,” Inspector General Deborah Faulkner said. “We’re committed to ensuring that TennCare benefits are not used for the purchase and eventual distribution of these drugs to people they weren’t prescribed for.”
TennCare fraud is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to two years per charge in prison.
Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”
Meanwhile, in other cases Friday, 24 year old Steven Andrew Cantrell pleaded guilty to sale of a schedule III controlled substance (Dihydrocodeune) and received a two year sentence, suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,000
30 year old Willie Murphy pleaded guilty to burglary and theft over $1,000. He received a four year sentence in each case to run concurrently with each other and concurrently with a violation of probation against him. Murphy must make restitution of $1,275 to Smithville Rental Center. He was given jail credit of 202 days.
23 year old Cougar Wayne Pursley pleaded guilty by information to reckless driving and received a sentence of five months and 29 days on probation. He was fined $350.
28 year old Desiree Snyder pleaded guilty to promotion to manufacture methamphetamine and prescription fraud. She received a two year sentence in each case, all suspended to supervised probation. The two sentences are to be served consecutively or back to back for a total of four years. Snyder was fined $2,000 and she must undergo an alcohol and drug assessment. Her probation is to be transferred to Michigan. Snyder was given nine days jail credit.
27 year old David Turner pleaded guilty to sale of a schedule III drug and received a suspended two year sentence. He was also fined $2,000.
32 year old William Wayne Graham pleaded guilty to sale of a schedule II controlled substance. He received a six year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Corrections and was fined $2,000.
41 year old Michael Thomas pleaded guilty by information to reckless endangerment and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days, all suspended to supervised probation by community corrections. The sentence is to run concurrently with his current probation.
25 year old Justin Thomas pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and received a three year sentence, suspended to supervised probation. The sentence is to run consecutive with Wilson County cases against him.
20 year old Marv Cash pleaded guilty to theft over $500 and received a one year sentence, all suspended to probation. He has requested judicial diversion.
27 year old Robert Justin Luna pleaded guilty to theft under $500 and criminal trespass. He received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days in the theft case, all suspended except for ten days. He must make restitution of $100 to the victim and pay $100 to the economic crime fund. Luna received a 30 day suspended sentence in the criminal trespass case. The sentences are to run concurrently with each other and with a White County case against him for domestic assault.
28 year old Rhonda J. Goff pleaded guilty to promotion of methamphetamine and received a two year sentence, suspended to probation with community corrections. She was fined $2,000. Goff must undergo an alcohol and drug assessment and follow any treatment recommendations. She was given 49 days jail credit.
34 year old Jerry Goff pleaded guilty to initiation to manufacture methamphetamine and received an eight year sentence to serve at 30% before his release eligibility date. He was fined $2,000. The sentence is to run concurrently with a violation of probation case against him. Goff was given jail credit of 211 days.
50 year old Earl Yost pleaded guilty to a third offense of driving under the influence. He received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days, all suspended to probation except for 120 days to serve. Yost was fined $1,110 and he will lose his drivers license for five years. He will report to jail on October 19.
21 year old Travis Davenport pleaded guilty to possession of a schedule VI controlled substance for resale and received a two year sentence, all suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,000. The sentence is to run concurrently with his current CPS probation.
23 year old Porsche Cantrell Batey pleaded guilty to introduction of contraband. She received a three year sentence, all suspended to supervised probation except for one year to serve. The sentence is to run concurrently with a general sessions court case against her. Cantrell was given jail credit from March 4 to June 7.
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