SOUTH DAKOTA WOMAN SENTENCED FOR HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT

Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that HOLLI TELFORD LUNDAHL, age 64, of Oelrichs, South Dakota, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Freudenthal on August 27, 2021 to 27 months imprisonment, with three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $76,626.65 in restitution, payable to the Wyoming Medicaid program, and a $500 special assessment.

The sentence comes after a jury found Lundahl guilty on three counts of health care fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft after a one-week trial held in April of 2021 in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming.

In March 2020, Holli Lundahl was indicted on the charges, which included three overlapping schemes to defraud Wyoming Medicaid by submitting false claims for long-term care provided to Lundahl’s sibling, and the unlawful possession and use of identity information of two individuals, including Lundahl’s niece, in furtherance of two of the charged schemes.

“Lundahl deserves every bit of that sentence. She robbed Wyomingites of receiving legitimate funds for necessary care through Wyoming’s Medicaid System,” said Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray. “The sentence speaks to the hard work put into investigating and prosecuting the case, and we thank the Wyoming Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and our prosecution team for putting a stop to this injustice.”

Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill complimented the work of both the U.S. Attorney's Office and her office's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, noting that, “It was nice to have the opportunity to partner together to root out Medicaid fraud and protect the Medicaid program from these sorts of abuses. This is important work as it helps assure that the Medicaid program is available to provide medical care for those citizens who truly need it.”

The case was investigated by the Wyoming Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and prosecuted by Senior Assistant Attorney General Travis Kirchhefer of the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office and Assistant United States Attorney Eric Heimann.

Suspected fraud against Medicaid can be reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477) and the agency’s website https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/. Wyoming residents can call the Wyoming Medicaid Fraud Control Unit toll free at 1-800-378-0345, or visit their website at http://ag.wyo.gov/medicaid-fraud-control-unit.