Overton Co. Woman Charged 2nd Time with TennCare Fraud

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – An Overton County woman is charged with TennCare fraud for the second time – both times the charges are related to selling prescription drugs paid for by the state’s healthcare insurance program.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG), with the assistance of the Overton County Sheriff’s Office, today announced the arrest of Sharon Diane Willis, 49, of Livingston. Willis is charged with TennCare fraud and both sale and delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance. Authorities say she used TennCare benefits to obtain the painkiller Morphine, later selling a portion to an undercover informant. She is also charged with sale and delivery of another painkiller, Oxycodone.   Willis is served with this indictment in the Overton County jail, where she’s currently being held in on unrelated charges.

Willis was first arrested in October 2007 when she was charged with 36 counts of TennCare fraud and theft of services. That arrest occurred after an undercover investigation revealing that Willis was assisting TennCare enrollees in obtaining forged prescriptions. Not only did Willis obtain prescriptions for her own use such as the anti-anxiety medication Alprazolam along with Morphine and Avinza, which is a form of Morphine and Promethazine, a drug used to prevent nausea when taking pain medications. At that time, she was also charged with aiding and abetting others in obtaining forged prescriptions for Carisoprodol, a muscle relaxer, the antibiotic Trimax and the painkillers Hydrocodone and Avinza. In October of 2008, Willis pleaded guilty to TennCare fraud and was ordered to repay TennCare a total of $26,730.88 and she was sentenced to four years supervised probation.

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, 2,659 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 visit the website and follow prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”