Nurse faked medical records in Medicare fraud scheme, feds say. She’s going to prison
A Georgia nurse is facing just over seven years in prison and $1.6 million in restitution after prosecutors said she falsified medical records in a Medicare fraud scheme that targeted older adults.
With the help of co-conspirators, court documents show, Sherley Beaufils, 44, of Conyers, used the identities of people older than 55 obtained through telemarketing to order more than 3,000 medical braces. She never met or examined any of the patients, federal officials say.
To pocket profits, Beaufils then sold the orders to other companies and billed Medicare for the equipment’s reimbursement — which added up to more than $3 million, according to a Tuesday, Aug. 9, news release U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.
The former nurse practitioner’s lawyers did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Beaufils was convicted of five counts each of health care fraud, false statements related to health care and aggravated identity theft, prosecutors say, which landed her an 87-month prison sentence and $1,635,161.61 in restitution. She was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
“Sherley Beaufils let greed take the wheel when she raked in massive profits by ordering unnecessary medical devices for patients she never examined or spoke to,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia David H. Estes said in the release. “She targeted the elderly and medically vulnerable with her schemes, and is now being held accountable.”
Conyers is about 70 miles north of Macon.
This story was originally published August 10, 2022 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Nurse faked medical records in Medicare fraud scheme, feds say. She’s going to prison."
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