Barbour County woman sentenced after exploiting nursing home residents

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Barbour County woman was sentenced Friday in connection to exploiting more than a dozen nursing home residents.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Medicaid Fraud Control Unit announced Mary Jane Brown, of Belington, was sentenced on multiple felony counts in Randolph Circuit Court, including Medicaid fraud, financial exploitation and fraudulent schemes.

The unit determined that over a four-year period, Brown had financially exploited 13 patients at an Elkins nursing home, stealing more than $50,000. She also caused more than $40,000 in fraudulent claims to be submitted to the Medicaid program, resulting in a total loss of $97,264.59.

Brown was arrested in July 2014. She was sentenced to serve one year in jail on one count of financial exploitation and two consecutive terms of one-to-ten years in prison on a count of fraudulent schemes and a count of Medicaid fraud. The prison sentences were suspended in favor of seven years of probation, which will begin after Brown is released from jail. She will also have to restitution.

The Medicaid Fraud Unit also announced Friday an approval of a waiver allowing it to conduct data mining activities to detect Medicaid fraud. West Virginia is only one of 10 states to have such a waiver from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.

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Barbour County woman sentenced after exploiting nursing home residents