STONE MOUNTAIN | Speech therapist sentenced for Medicaid fraud | News

ATLANTA -- A DeKalb County jury has found a Stone Mountain speech therapist guilty of defrauding Georgia's Medicaid program.

Janine Wright was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison, followed by six years of probation.

Authorities say that from June 2008 through January 2010, Wright submitted more than 900 false Medicaid claims, totaling more than $59,000 for speech therapy services she had never provided.

The fraudulent claims were submitted under the Medicaid numbers of 15 children who were Medicaid recipients.

The fraudulent billing pattern was first discovered by the Georgia Department of Community Health office of inspector general. The case was referred by them to the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, a unit of the Georgia Attorney General's Office.