Equine therapy workers sentenced in Medicaid scam
Owners of Nev. equine therapy business sentenced in Medicaid scam; ordered to pay $30,000
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Two California women who ran an equine therapy center in northern Nevada have been sentenced in a Medicaid scam.
Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto says 64-year-old Suzanne Pindell of Fork of Salmon and 44-year-old Terra Shepherd of Chico were ordered Wednesday to pay back $30,000 between them.
Masto says the two women ran a Washoe County business called HealTherapy of Nevada that brought together people and horses to teach patients behavioral skills.
Investigators say they were tipped off in 2010 that center officials had a habit of providing one hour of therapy for clients, but billing as if they provided two.
Masto says company owners tried to justify the practice by saying the time included patient transportation and horse care, even though they knew the practice wasn't right.
