In news conferences, legislative hearings and testimony to Congress, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has said his office has won more than 300 convictions against Medicaid fraudsters since he took office six years ago.
The AG’s office is responsible for prosecuting those cases in Minnesota, using a small team of attorneys and investigators in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit or MFCU.
But a 5 INVESTIGATES analysis of those cases found that only a portion of those charged with felony-level fraud ended up with a felony on their record.
Using state court records, 5 INVESTIGATES identified more than 250 Medicaid fraud cases where the defendant pleaded guilty. Plea agreement and sentencing documents revealed nearly 80% of the offenders received sentences that would reduce or dismiss the felony conviction after probation.
Fraud in public assistance programs in Minnesota has received increasing scrutiny in the last year, after high-profile federal investigations.
In an interview with 5 INVESTIGATES, Ellison argued there are other long-term consequences in these cases. Defendants are barred from working in Medicare or Medicaid related jobs and are required to pay restitution.
“It is life ruining to be charged with Medicaid fraud, even if you somehow manage to complete probation without a permanent felony,” he said.
The stays
The reduced or dismissed convictions are the result of two sentencing options available to state court judges in Minnesota: a stay of imposition and a stay of adjudication.
When sentenced to a stay of imposition, the judge will accept a guilty plea from the defendant and will put that defendant on probation, explained Amy Sweasy, University of Minnesota Law School professor.
“If the defendant successfully completes all of those conditions and terms… that final felony sentence will not actually be imposed,” she said, resulting in either a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor on the defendant’s record.
A stay of adjudication works the same way, but the court doesn’t ultimately accept the guilty plea and therefore, no criminal conviction appears on the defendant’s record after probation.
“It’s as if there had been no criminal prosecution at all,” Sweasy said.
You can read the full article at KSTP.