Medicare Billing Fraud Suspect Arrested

OKEECHOBEE, FL. -- Florida's Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Nancy Zeigler, 53, for more than $34,000 in Medicaid fraud. 

According to the investigation, Ziegler fraudulently billed Medicaid for services never provided while employed as the Executive Director at Okeechobee Rehabilitation Facility, Inc. 

Ziegler allegedly billed Medicaid for adult day care, transportation and respite care that amounted to more than $34,000. Zeigler is charged with one count of Medicaid fraud, a second-degree felony. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison, a fine of more than $170,000, and restitution. 

The Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting this case.

The Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes fraud involving providers that intentionally defraud the state's Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices. Medicaid fraud essentially steals from Florida's taxpayers. 

From Jan. 2011 to Nov. 2014, Attorney General Bondi's MFCU has obtained more than $466 million in settlements and judgments. Additionally, the MFCU investigates allegations of patient abuse, neglect, and exploitation in facilities receiving payments under the Medicaid program.