Pooler Couple Sentenced To Federal Prison For Health Care Fraud Scheme

Savannah, GA – Sheryl Evans, 55, of Pooler, Georgia, was sentenced earlier this week to 13 months in prison by United States District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr. after pleading guilty to her role in a scheme to defraud the South Carolina Medicaid and federal Medicare programs.  Sheryl Evans’s husband and partner-in-crime, Robert Evans, 53, also of Pooler, was sentenced to 6 months in prison.  Additionally, the couple was ordered to repay over $189,000 of fraudulently obtained proceeds.

According to evidence presented at the guilty plea and sentencing hearings, Sheryl and Robert Evans jointly owned and operated Trio Medical Solutions in Pooler, Georgia, which purported to provide durable medical equipment such as back, knee and hand braces.  While operating Trio from July 2010 until July 2012, the Evanses repeatedly used the identities of Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries recruited from churches, senior citizen centers and low-income neighborhoods to bill the government for expensive medical equipment that was never purchased or provided.

United States Attorney Edward Tarver stated, “The Medicaid and Medicare programs exist to help the indigent, the disabled and the elderly obtain necessary medical services.  Instead of helping those in need, however, these defendants took advantage of the programs and the beneficiaries for their own selfish purposes.  This office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who prey upon the most vulnerable members of our communities and steal taxpayer funds.”

This case was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the FBI, and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Lamont Belk and Jennifer Solari prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.  For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.