Woman sent to prison, must repay $7.5 million in fraud case

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A southeast Missouri woman has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $7.5 million in restitution in a Medicaid and Medicare fraud case.

A federal judge in Cape Girardeau on Tuesday sentenced 42-year-old Brandy McKay of Cape Girardeau. She had earlier pleaded guilty.

McKay operated several durable medical equipment companies. A plea agreement stated that the companies paid kickbacks for orders and prescriptions signed by telemedicine doctors and nurse practitioners who in most cases didn't examine or even have contact with patients, and who did not determine those patients needed durable medical equipment.

McKay's companies then submitted reimbursement claims to Medicare and Medicaid. A news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in St. Louis said that in many cases, patients received equipment they had had not requested or needed.