Mental health counselor Margie Hollingsworth gets 46 months prison for Medicaid fraud

October 23, 2012

Licensed Professional Counselor Margie E. Hollingsworth, of Lubbock was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 46 months in federal prison, following her guilty plea in February 2012 to one count of making a false statement in a health care matter. In addition, Judge Cummings ordered that Hollingsworth pay a $6,000 fine and $556,704 in restitution to Medicaid. She must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on or before November 23, 2012. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña, of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, from January 2, 2004 through December 2009, Hollingsworth, an approved Medicaid provider, submitted a claim to Medicare for three hours of face-to-face counseling provided to a patient in Lubbock on Christmas Day 2009, when in fact, she was in Colorado at the time. According to the indictment, during this time period, the total amount Hollingsworth billed for services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries was between $1 million and $2.5 million. Of that amount, Hollingsworth was paid approximately $576,234.39. Of that, $556,704 was paid for fraudulent claims.

The case was investigated by the Texas Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Burch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock was in charge of the prosecution.

Source: News release of the the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, October 19, 2012.