A Severna Park woman pleaded guilty yesterday to health care fraud, admitting she billed the government and insurance companies for more than $200,000 in services she never rendered.
Virginia Vought Acree, a state-licensed clinical specialist in child and adolescent psychiatric and mental health, now faces the possibility of 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. She will be sentenced Oct. 7.
"Too many greedy medical providers fleece the taxpayers by submitting false claims for services they have not provided," said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein in a prepared statement.
According to the federal plea agreement, Acree, 49, of Linstead Road, admits she filed hundreds of fraudulent insurance claims between January 2003 and November 2007 to obtain more than $200,000 from government and private health care benefit programs.
Prosecutors estimate the total fraud at $578,000, but have agreed to let U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles sort out the difference when he orders restitution in October.
"That will be decided at sentencing," said Vickie LeDuc, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney Office.
Prosecutors said Acree, who worked by herself to treat patients in their homes and at assisted-living facilities, billed for face-to-face psychotherapy sessions with patients in Glen Burnie and Severna Park while she was on vacation in other states and countries. To conceal the fraud, she used false information on medical forms and patient logs.
When Acree did meet with patients, she sometimes lied about how long she spent with some patients and billed other patients for medical services they didn't need.
Acree is the latest in a string of county businesswomen to face fraud and theft charges in connection with her work.
Two women were sentenced April 21 for stealing almost $100,000 from each of their employers in Annapolis and Millersville. Another woman was convicted April 16 of stealing $19,000 from a Glen Burnie company as part of an elaborate theft scheme where she actually produced fake bank statements to show her bosses.
While those cases were prosecuted by the county's States Attorney's Office, Mr. Rosenstein said his office is cracking down on white collar crime and health care fraud.
He described Acree's arrest and conviction as part of a "series."
