FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
JUDY LAHR RACINE PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls on May 14, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, JUDY LAHR RACINE, a 54-year-old resident of Browning, pled guilty to theft from a local government receiving federal funding and theft from a health care facility. Sentencing is set for August 21, 2008. She is currently released on special conditions.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
The Blackfeet Care Center is an agency of tribal government providing health care services to members of the Blackfeet Tribe and other qualifying patients on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The Blackfeet Care Center received $725,350 in Medicaid funds from January of 2007 to November of 2007.
During March of 2007 through October of 2007, RACINE was employed as the Business Office Director for the Blackfeet Care Center. As the Business Office Director, RACINE had total control over accounts receivable, accounts payable, and banking account information, which was utilized to track Blackfeet Care Center Medicaid and Non-Medicaid funds. In addition, RACINE reviewed and reconciled all Blackfeet Care Center bank accounts and provided a balance statement to the Blackfeet Care Center's Administrator. RACINE embezzled money from the Blackfeet Care Center in several different ways.
RACINE took cash "off the top" while depositing Medicaid checks into Blackfeet Care Center's banking account. When making deposits of Medicaid and other Blackfeet Care Center receipts, RACINE would get cash back instead of depositing the entire amount and then divert the cash to her own use and benefit.
RACINE wrote multiple Blackfeet Care Center checks to "cash" or to herself (usually in large, even amounts). Review of the bank transactions shows that RACINE used Blackfeet Care Center monies to pay her personal bills, to obtain goods and services for her personal enrichment, and used checks to obtain cash.
RACINE also used a Blackfeet Care Center Visa/Check card to withdraw monies from ATM machines or pay for unauthorized personal items and vacations.
All of these transactions involved the abstraction of federal Medicaid funds, either by failing to deposit the total, or extracting money for personal use through the use of checks and the Visa card. To conceal her thefts, RACINE manipulated her monthly balance statements to Blackfeet Care Center's Administrator showing that Blackfeet Care Center's bank account was sound and intact.
RACINE faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl E. Rostad prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was conducted by the Inspector General's Office for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
