A Maryland woman allegedly pretended to be a licensed nurse for more than four years to defraud Medicaid, according to The Baltimore Sun.
According to the indictment, Musu Kandeh assumed the identity of another person to pose as a nurse with Takoma Park, Md.-based Automatic Nursing Care Services. While pretending to be a nurse, Ms. Kandeh allegedly provided care to Medicaid recipients and submitted thousands of fraudulent claims to Medicaid.
Ms. Kandeh is charged with felony theft, identity theft and Medicaid fraud, as well as a misdemeanor offense of practicing without a license, according to the report.
Ms. Kandeh was employed at Automatic Nursing Care Services between October 2012 and December 2016, and prosecutors say she was not licensed by the Maryland Board of Nursing to practice registered nursing during that time.
Ms. Kandeh's attorney filed a motion to dismiss three charges in the case, arguing the state missed a one-year statute of limitations for charging Ms. Kandeh with Medicaid fraud, identity theft and practicing without a license.
In response, Assistant Attorney General Sidney Butcher argued Ms. Kandeh's attorney is incorrectly applying misdemeanor standards to the charges of Medicaid fraud and identity theft, which are both felonies. In addition, Mr. Butcher contends there is an extended statute of limitation of three years after the incident to charge an individual with practicing without a license, according to the report.
The case is set to go to trial in September.
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