PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A man accused of defrauding the South Dakota Medicaid program has been sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay back $990.
Thirty-eight-year-old Tanka Bhujel pleaded guilty in state court to one count of making false claims, a class 5 felony. Authorities say he inflated the number of hours he worked while he was employed as a home health care provider with the Alpha Sigma Health Group in Sioux Falls.
South Dakota Attorney General says investigators discovered the claims while monitoring Bhujel’s arrival and departure times at a care recipient’s house. In one instance Bhujel said he had worked four hours when investigators had timed him for three minutes.
Bhujel, of Des Moines, Iowa, was also ordered to complete 80 hours of community service.
Source: Judge orders man to pay back $990 in Medicaid fraud case THE EAGLE