Davidson Co. Woman Must Repay State for TennCare Benefits

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Davidson County woman is ordered to repay the state and a TennCare contractor for healthcare insurance services received while she was fraudulently enrolled in TennCare.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) today announced that 30-year old Ashley Michelle Wardlaw of Nashville pleaded guilty to TennCare fraud and theft of services over $1,000.  As a condition of her plea agreement, she’s been ordered to pay restitution to TennCare in the amount of $10,821.87 and also to United HealthCare in the amount of $2,767.71 – a total of $13,589.58.

“We hope those that are abusing TennCare program are getting the message that we are aggressively pursuing TennCare fraud and making arrests statewide,” Inspector General Manny Tyndall said.

Wardlaw was arrested in March 2013, when she was charged with TennCare fraud and two counts of theft of services in connection with claiming to the state that her minor child lived in her household, fraudulently rendering herself eligible for TennCare benefits.

Wardlaw is also sentenced to four years in prison, suspended to supervised probation. District Attorney General Glenn Funk prosecuted this case.

The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to more than $3 million being repaid to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of more than $163.6 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 2,583 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.

Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”