Private-duty nurse charged with over $28,000 in Medicaid fraud

MADISON, Wis. - Attorney General Josh Kaul announced Wednesday, Nov. 11 charges filed against Paige O’Connor, 49, of Milwaukee, for alleged fraud and theft as a private-duty nurse.

The investigation was conducted by the Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

“The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit protects the Medicaid program and folks who rely on Medicaid from unscrupulous conduct. Thank you to the members of that unit whose work brought this case together,” said Attorney General Kaul.

According to the criminal complaint, a mother living in southern Wisconsin hired Paige O’Connor to care for her very young child, who suffered from severe medical issues. O’Connor’s job was to provide in-home nursing care to the child. All of this nursing care was paid for by the Wisconsin Medicaid Program.

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According to a press release from the DOJ, the mother received benefit summaries from Wisconsin Medicaid and realized O’Connor was billing Medicaid for times she did not work. In one example, O’Connor took a trip to Florida. After she returned, O’Connor billed Medicaid $510 for each day of her vacation, claiming that she was providing in-person nursing care to the child.

The complaint alleges that O’Connor repeatedly reported false work hours to Medicaid and stole over $28,0000 from the Medicaid program.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Lennington from the DOJ Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit.