Law enforcement officials have charged a Jefferson County woman with TennCare fraud.
That woman, Consuelo Morales, 44, allegedly falsified her income to obtain healthcare insurance through the state program, according to a state press release.
The Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Jefferson City Police Department arrested Morales. A Jefferson County grand jury charged her with TennCare fraud theft of property over $10,000, the press release said.
“The indictment says Morales knowingly obtained TennCare benefits with the intent to avoid payment for services by failing to properly report to the state her spouse’s income, real estate assets and the fact that her family was eligible for private insurance through her spouse’s employer,” according to the press release.
“Providing false information in order to receive TennCare benefits is a crime Tennesseans will not tolerate,” said Inspector General Kim Harmon.
District Attorney General James B. Dunn is prosecuting. TennCare fraud is a class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison. Theft of property over $10,000 is a Class C felony punishable by up to six years in prison, according to state officials.
As The Tennessee Star reported in December, authorities arrested and charged a Florida woman with TennCare fraud — for the sixth time.
That woman, Desiree McIntyre, 29, of Ocala, Fla. faces three counts of TennCare fraud in Sullivan County by doctor shopping, according to the state’s Office of Inspector General.
That particular offense involves using TennCare to visit multiple doctors in a short period of time to obtain prescription drugs. Despite saying she was from Florida, state officials said McIntyre lived in Tennessee at the time of the alleged incidents.
Her previous arrests occurred outside of Sullivan County.
State officials also announced the arrest of a Lake County woman, Tracy A. Eaves, 39, in an unrelated case, also for TennCare fraud.
That arrest, state officials said, occurred in connection with a round-up that took place in November involving the Office of Inspector General (OIG), the 29th Judicial Drug Task Force, Tiptonville Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities discovered Eaves was living in Missouri. They returned her to Tennessee, according to state officials.
Authorities say she used TennCare benefits to obtain Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction “by mimicking the drug’s affect without the withdrawal symptoms.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
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