Banks concealed her fraud by creating fictitious records and making false statements related to health care, according to a press release from Jonathan Ross, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Banks faces 23 counts of wire fraud, seven counts of making false statements in connection with health care, one count of lying to the FBI and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Banks owned Arkansas Behavioral Center (ABC), according to the indictment, and although she treated some regular patients, most of her patients were referrals who were seen just once for pre-surgical psychological evaluations.
The indictment alleges that from 2021 through 2023, Banks billed thousands of hours for psychological services that never occurred and routinely charged Medicare and Blue Cross in the names of patients she’d seen only once. Some of those billings included services that took place while she was vacationing in Florida and Mexico, according to the indictment.
The indictment also alleges Banks billed the federal insurance program and the insurance company for services to several deceased patients.
Banks responded to questions about disputed claims by creating fictitious records and providing nearly identical records to Medicare and Blue Cross and later misled the FBI by blaming over-billing on her calendaring software, the indictment alleges.
Banks was appointed a federal public defender at Thursday’s appearance, court records show.
To view this story, or for more news updates from Arkansas Advocate, click here.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI