Woman pleads guilty in $3.3M Medicare fraud that used fake NH biz as front

CONCORD - A Florida woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in Concord in connection with her role in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare of $3.3 million.

Yolanda Dupont, 38, of New Port Richey, Fla., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, with sentencing set for July 22.

According to court documents, Dupont and her co-conspirators owned and operated Allstar Medical Supply Corp., a purported medical equipment business in New Hampshire selling orthotic braces. As part of the conspiracy, Dupont served as the nominee owner of the business to conceal the identities of the true owners, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Dupont certified that neither she nor Allstar would not submit false claims to Medicare. However, during the conspiracy, Dupont and her co-conspirators submitted, or caused the submission of, approximately $3.3 million in false and fraudulent claims for orthotic braces to Medicare with Medicare paying out at least $1.6 million to Dupont and her co-conspirators for these claims. Ultimately, Medicare beneficiaries received orthotic braces that were medically unnecessary, ineligible for reimbursement, and often not wanted or needed.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain.