Zachary Woman Sentenced In Medicare Fraud Case

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Zachary woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $10.9 million for frauds committed against Medicare.

The Advocate reports Chikenna Jones and her attorney, Michael A. Fiser, told U.S. District Judge James J. Brady Tuesday that the woman's role in the fraudulent schemes was secondary to that of her former husband, Henry Lamont Jones.

Trial testimony by federal investigators and scheme participants showed that patient recruiters were hired by the Joneses to locate Medicare patients, obtain their Medicare numbers and persuade physicians to prescribe expensive equipment.

Henry Jones is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 21.