Jacqueline Jay Podell, 46, and Michael Wilson, 53, both of Winamac, Indiana were sentenced before US District Court Judge Philip Simon. On December 13, 2019, defendant Podell entered a guilty plea to conspiring to commit healthcare fraud. Defendant Wilson entered his guilty plea a month later to the charge of participating in a healthcare fraud scheme. Defendant Podell was sentenced on June 11, 2020 and received 6 months in prison and 6 months home confinement. Defendant Wilson was sentenced today and received 18 months in prison. Both defendants have been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $985,490.27 to Medicare and $8,154.19 to Indiana Medicaid. According to documents in this case, in June 2018 Michael Wilson and Jacqueline Podell were indicted for their involvement in a multi-year scheme to defraud Medicare and, to a lesser degree, the Indiana Medicaid Program by submitting fraudulent ambulance transport claims for payment. Operating under the name Transport Loving Care, dba Alliance EMS defendants transported 4 patients, none of who actually had a medical need for ambulance transport, to and from dialysis from 2010-2014. Defendants’ scheme resulted in almost 2 million dollars in fraudulent claims to Medicare and tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent claims to Indiana Medicaid.
