MEDI-CAL FRAUD: First State Employee Charged in FBI Probe
An employee of the Department of Health Services yesterday became the first state worker to be implicated in the FBI's ongoing investigation of Medi-Cal fraud, the Los Angeles Times reports. Mildred Jackson, a 24-year veteran state worker and office technician with the department, is accused of accepting six $1,000 bribes in exchange for expediting the claims process for some physicians. The application process generally requires physicians to wait 30 days before submitting claims, but Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Linhardt said that Jackson's actions allowed some physicians to "file false claims much sooner" than allowed under the normal process. Linhardt said, in addition to Jackson, several other state workers are currently under investigation. If convicted, the maximum penalty Jackson will face is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine (Ellis, 4/5).
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