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Date: 04-03-2024
Case Style:
Case Number: 1:23-cr-00148
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Court: The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (Marion County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis
Defendant's Attorney:
Description:
Former Health Insurance Coverage Supervisor Sentenced to Federal Prison for Embezzling Nearly One Million Dollars from Employer
Yolanda Brooks, 52, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
According to court documents, Yolanda Brooks was employed by Company A as a Medicaid Supervisor from December 16, 2005, until July 2, 2020. Company A processed medical insurance claims on behalf of Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance companies.
Brooks’ responsibilities included processing medical care claims to be paid by Medicaid and other medical insurance carriers. In performance of her duties, Brooks had access to checks in the possession of Company A, which were to be processed as refunds or reimbursements to their clients.
In March and July of 2018, Brooks opened two personal bank accounts at Key Bank in her maiden name, Yolanda Mohid. The address listed for both accounts was Brook’s personal residence in Indianapolis. Other than the introductory title of ‘Yolanda Mohid’ on each account, the account names were similar to the names of clients of Company A.
Between March 22, 2018, and July 23, 2021, Brooks took approximately 486 checks mailed to Company A in the total amount of $920,148.51 and deposited them into her two personal bank accounts referenced above. Brooks falsely represented to the bank that she was authorized to negotiate said checks and deposit them into her personal accounts.
Brooks used the stolen money for her own personal purposes, including shopping at Victoria’s Secret, casino gambling, and luxury vacations.
“Nearly five hundred times, this defendant abused her position of trust to steal nearly a million dollars intended to pay people’s healthcare costs,” said U.S. Attorney, Zachary A. Myers. “Our office is committed to working with our partners at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to hold fraudsters accountable. The serious federal prison sentence imposed here should serve as a warning to any who might consider engaging in this sort of scheme: you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will potentially go to federal prision.”
“Solving complex financial crimes such as this is one of the many things we do as postal inspectors. I commend the investigative efforts of our postal inspectors in this case, as well as our partners at the United States Attorney’s Office, in unraveling this elaborate scheme and holding Ms. Brooks responsible for her crime,” said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge for the Detroit Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. Judge Stinson also ordered that Brooks be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following her release from federal prison and pay a total of $920,148.51 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Warden and who prosecuted this case.
Outcome:
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: