New Orleans area mother indicted by federal grand jury for health care fraud

Thirty-six year old JoAnn Girod of Marrero was charged earlier this week with health care fraud by a federal grand jury in a nine count indictment.

According to the indictment, Girod’s children were MEDICAID recipients who were supposed to have received personal care services from a MEDICAID provider. The indictment alleges that Girod signed forms and represented that A New Beginning of New Orleans (ANBNO) provided these services to her children. ANBNO is located in Harvey and has legal issues of its own. Between April of 2001 and February of 2005, ANBNO workers paid Girod cash kickbacks for the use of her children’s MEDICAID benefits. Based on the submission of fraudulent claims, MEDICAID paid approximately $65,131.00 to ANBNO for services that were never performed.

Girod faces a maximum sentence of ninety years in prison, a fine of $2,250,000.00 and three years of supervised probation upon release.