AG Balderas: Grand Jury Indictment Of Counselor Accused Of Stealing Thousands Of Dollars From Medicaid Program
From the Office of the Attorney General:
LAS CRUCES – New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas announced today that the Office of the Attorney General secured a grand jury indictment against Cathy Chidester of Drop In Counseling for defrauding the State’s Medicaid program, among other charges.
Chidester is accused of illegally billing the program, spanning Sept. 1, 2017 to Oct. 28, 2019. Chidester faces 15 felony charges, including multiple counts of fraud over $20,000.00, obstruction of investigation, Medicaid fraud and theft of identity.
“Medicaid ensures that almost half of all New Mexicans have access to healthcare, and we must do all we can to protect these resources that are so vital to our families,” Balderas said. “We will continue to hold anyone who tries to steal these critical healthcare resources accountable.”
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LAS CRUCES – A licensed professional clinical counselor based in Las Cruces was indicted Friday on multiple counts of Medicaid fraud, identity theft and other charges.
The grand jury indictment, filed in New Mexico s Third District Court, accuses Cathy Chidester of Drop In Counseling of submitting fraudulent Medicaid claims, including one count of Medicaid fraud over $20,000; three counts of fraud over $20,000 and another over $500; obstruction of investigation; and six counts of identity theft.
The New Mexico Attorney General s Office announced the indictment Monday, saying Chidester faces 15 felony charges for allegedly billing the program illegally between September 2017 between October 2019.
A spokesman for the Attorney General s Office said the alleged fraud amounts to more than $170,000.