WEST VIRGINIA SOCIAL WORKER CHARGED
WITH FELONY MEDICAID FRAUD

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., announced today that Barbara Andreadis, 58, of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, was charged in an two count criminal information with felony Medicaid fraud and felony insurance fraud.

It is alleged that from April 1999 to December 2001, Andreadis knowingly submitted fraudulent claims to the Maryland Medicaid program and to a number of private insurance companies, representing that she had provided psychotherapy services to patients when she had not actually performed the services. Andreadis, a licensed social worker, previously operated Crossroads Behavioral Therapy Center in Hancock, Maryland. An initial hearing is currently set for May 20, 2003.

The case is being prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office in conjunction with the Insurance Fraud Division of he Maryland Insurance Administration.

While an indictment is only an accusation and all persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, a charge of felony Medicaid fraud is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Felony insurance fraud is punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years and a fine of $10,000.

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