Winnsboro Mayor Arrested for $75K Medicaid Fraud While Serving as Elected Official

WINNSBORO, La. (KPEL News) — The mayor of Winnsboro, Louisiana, was arrested Tuesday on six counts of government benefits fraud after state investigators say she collected more than $75,000 in Medicaid benefits while working as an elected official and drawing a salary that made her ineligible for the program.

Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office says Alice Wallace, 50, of Robinson Drive in Winnsboro, collected Medicaid benefits for herself and a dependent from 2021 through 2026. Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents found she failed to report changes in household income, did not disclose her marital status, and misrepresented whether her employers offered health insurance coverage.

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LBI Found Years of Concealed Income, Employment

The alleged fraud covers two separate periods of employment. From 2021 through 2022, investigators say Wallace held a job, drew a salary, and was offered health coverage through that employer. None of that was reported to the Louisiana Department of Health as required.

From 2022 through 2026, she served as Winnsboro’s elected mayor, earning a salary in that role. Investigators say she did not report her income, her employment, or access to employer health coverage, and continued drawing Medicaid benefits the entire time she was in office.

The LDH Medicaid Fraud Division put the combined loss at approximately $75,000.

AG Murrill: ‘It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are’

Murrill issued a pointed statement after the arrest.

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Murrill said. “If you defraud the hardworking taxpayers of Louisiana, you’re going to jail.”

LBI obtained an arrest warrant through the 19th Judicial District Court of Louisiana. Wallace surrendered to agents Tuesday, April 21, and was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Bond had not been set as of Tuesday.

Winnsboro’s First Elected Female Mayor

Wallace took office July 1, 2022, becoming the 22nd mayor of Winnsboro and the first woman elected to lead the Franklin Parish town. She won by 12 votes over the incumbent. Winnsboro has a population of about 4,860, according to the 2020 Census.

After the arrest, Wallace posted a statement to Facebook disputing the charges, writing in part that she had Blue Cross insurance since 2021 and that her daughter’s father carried the child’s coverage. She told KNOE her attorney had advised her not to comment further.