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So maybe it was an unusual situation to begin with, but the government’s handling of the matter was even more unusual.
A Washington DC worker, Vicey, had a very sick child. The youngster underwent organ transplantation and was put on a very expensive ($5,000 per month!) anti-rejection drug. Unfortunately, the transplant failed and the child was put into the permanent dialysis program. Mom, however, concocted a scheme to continue filing insurance claims for the medicine. Twelve months later, after she’d bilked the system for $60,000, the claims processor had a question about the dosage and called the physician. When the doctor advised that the child had not needed the drug for a year and the prescription had run out long before, the scheme came to light. It took four years for the Courts to demand restitution be made, and when that happened VIcey’s department head promoted her to a position in which Vicey handled the unemployment taxes.
Well, anyone who can figure out how to bilk one system for $60,000 in a year can also figure out how to bilk another system for $100,000 in a year and that’s exactly what Vicey did. This time she created her own fictitious company and began paying herself checks. And given that the fake company had never made contributions to the account in the first place, the refunds slipped through as tax free.
Once again the government, albeit late, caught onto the scheme. And this time the punishment was exceedingly harsh … they offered Vicey an early retirement, including all the pay and benefits (including full health insurance) usually paid. Most importantly, the retirement status meant that her restitution could not and would not be enforced. In this case, maybe crime DID pay.
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