MOUNT VERNON---A licensed nurse has been sentenced to prison for fraudulently billing Medicaid for home care to a severely disabled child that was never performed.

Marie Gilles, 56, of Mount Vernon, was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison for second degree grand larceny and ordered to pay $1,099,921 in restitution, including interest. The sentencing was ordered by Judge Richard A. Molea in Westchester County Supreme Court. Gilles pled guilty in November 2006 to stealing over $715,000 from the State.

From January 1995 to February 2005, Gilles submitted Medicaid claims falsely indicating she provided home health care services to a disabled child suffering from several conditions including cerebral palsy when in fact, Gilles never performed the services.

The Attorney General's investigation also found that the child's mother, Maria Ortiz, was involved in the fraud, as she received kickbacks from Gilles. When confronted with the results of the investigation's surveillance, Ortiz admitted to the scam and pled guilty to third degree grand larceny in December 2005. She was sentenced to five years' probation and signed a confession of judgment for $51,000.    3-14-07

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