Two Mississippi Woman and a Shelby Co. Woman Charged with TennCare Fraud

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Two people from Mississippi and a Shelby County woman are charged in separate cases with TennCare fraud. The Mississippi women are accused of lying about their residency in order to obtain TennCare.

The Office of Inspector General today announced the arrests of Latonya R. Morgan, 44 of Memphis, Zenobia Kimbrough, 32 of Southaven, Mississippi and Lori Padberg, 48 of Collierville.

A Shelby County indictment charges Latonya R. Morgan with TennCare fraud and theft of property over $10,000 in connection with fraudulently reporting she lived in Tennessee in order to obtain TennCare benefits, although she actually lived in Southaven, Mississippi. She subsequently moved back to Tennessee.  Her arrest was assisted by the U. S. Marshals Gulf States Task Force, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Zenobia Kimbrough is charged in Shelby County with TennCare fraud and theft of property over $10,000 in connection with obtaining medical services through TennCare by misrepresenting to the state that her family lived in Tennessee. Her arrest was assisted by the U.S. Marshals Gulf States Task Force, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Lori Padberg is charged with three counts of TennCare fraud and one count of theft of property. She’s accused of falsely reporting her income to the state in order to obtain TennCare medical assistance benefits she was not entitled to receive.

“It’s a simple equation: anyone who fraudulently obtains TennCare benefits is at great risk going to jail, Inspector Manny Tyndall said. “We continually strive to safeguard taxpayers’ hard-earned money by investigating and prosecuting people who try to beat the system.”

TennCare fraud is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison per charge.  Theft of property over $10,000 is a Class C felony punishable by up to six years in prison.  District Attorney General Amy T. Weirich will be prosecuting all three cases. Beginning July 1, 2016, TennCare fraud will become a Class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison.   

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, 2,664 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.”