TWO WOMEN CHARGED, ONE CONVICTED OF TENNCARE FRAUDNASHVILLE, Tenn. – Residents of Macon and Lawrence Counties have been charged with TennCare fraud. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) today announced that Teanya Poteet Knight, 29, of Lafayette has been charged with one count of TennCare fraud for presenting a Lafayette pharmacy with a forged prescription for the pain medicine Lortab, and trying to pay for it with TennCare benefits. In Lawrence County, 36-year-old Tammy Michelle Casey of Lawrenceburg is charged with trying to sell (30) Ambien sleeping tablets paid for by TennCare. The charges against both women are Class E Felonies, punishable by up to two years for each individual. Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Gibson of Macon County will be handling the prosecution of the Knight case. Mike Bottoms, District Attorney for Lawrence County and Jim White, Assistant District Attorney for Lawrence County are handling the case for Tammy Casey. In an unrelated case also prosecuted by Bottoms and White, Dianne Nora Craig of Lawrenceburg was sentenced to two years in prison and four years of probation on four counts of selling morphine and Lortab paid for by TennCare, which she has been enrolled in since 1994. She must serve 30% of the 2 years before she can be eligible for probation. “We’re committed to weeding out TennCare fraud, expecially
in those cases involving fraudulently obtained drugs, and the illegal
trafficking of TennCare drugs,” Inspector General Deborah Y.
Faulkner said. “We’re pursuing dozens of prescription
cases across the state and will prosecute to the fullest extent of
the law.” |
