Perry County Lab Owner Sentenced for Fraud

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita

The owner of a southern Indiana laboratory has been sentenced after pleading guilty to theft and identity deception charges. Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office says Betty Hanks participated in a scheme to defraud the Medicare and Indiana Medicaid programs.

Hanks was the owner and operator of Liberty Labs Inc. in Perry County. Investigators with the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the attorney general’s office found Hanks had billed for medically unnecessary services and misrepresented the services she did provide.

Hanks pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation on the theft conviction and two years for the identity deception conviction. She was also ordered to repay more than $63,000 in restitution.

“The theft of money from government insurance programs dedicated to serving our most vulnerable populations is a theft against every Indiana citizen,” Rokita said in a news release. “We must always hold accountable those who commit these selfish acts. That’s exactly what our office has done by working with our federal partners to bring this matter to a successful prosecution.”

Rokita’s office says the MFCU has recovered more than $8 million for the Indiana Medicaid program this year.