Investigators: Counselor Committed Medicaid Fraud; Bought Bentley, Hummer

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — A federal grand jury accused a former Charlotte drug counselor on Wednesday of using federal health care funds to pay for a Bentley, a Hummer and stays at expensive hotels.

Sarah Willis defrauded Medicaid out of more than $740,000 by submitting false claims for counseling services that she either did not provide or were not eligible for reimbursement, according to a court document. Investigators said Willis only saw patients a limited number of times and, in some cases, hadn't treated them at all.

Willis served three years in prison for drug violations and prostitution in the 1980s and 1990s, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections. She recovered from drug addiction and became a substance abuse counselor and clinical supervisor, opening Willis Adolescent and Adult Services at the Idlewild Office Park in 2007, according to the document.

During this time, Willis relapsed into alcohol and drug abuse, including crack cocaine, investigators said. In the last three years, Willis has been arrested at least 12 times, Channel 9 learned. Six of those arrests were on DWI charges, while others were on hit-and-run charges and cocaine possession charges.

The indictment claims Willis collected illegal Medicaid payments from October 2009 to January 2010 and spent:

• $40,000 on a Hummer H2

• $29,369.04 on two trips to the Ballantyne Resort

• $14,268 on a 2007 Dodge Charger SE

• $10,468.47 at the Ritz Carlton hotel

• $103,363 on a 2006 Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Willis also is accused of spending $18,400 of the money to bond herself out of the Mecklenburg County Jail on charges not related to the fraud accusations.

The newly formed Western District of North Carolina Health Care Fraud Task Force investigated Willis. Scott Cheney, an FBI agent in Charlotte, said putting a stop to health care fraud now may save people money in the long run.

"As those benefits get depleted, it's going to become more of our concern as the tax dollars are going to need to be spent to care for those folks and our health care costs are going to continue to increase because of it," Cheney said.

Sarah Willis is being held in the Mecklenburg County Jail.

WSOC