Former Middletown Nurse Charged With Medicaid Fraud

A Long Island nurse who worked at her husband’s former medical practice in Middletown was arrested on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and charged with illegally writing prescriptions while the doctor was on leave and not practicing medicine, according to a press release from the State of Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.

Samantha Sinclair, 41, of Cold Spring Hills Road, Huntington, N.Y., was charged with one count each of the following:

• Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community
• Forgery in the Second Degree
• Insurance Fraud

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Sinclair as a registered nurse was not licensed or authorized to prescribe medications when she worked at River Valley Neurology in Middletown, which was owned and operated by her husband. The couple has since relocated to Long Island.

Alleged Forging of Signatures

Between January and June of 2012, while Dr. Sinclair was on a medical leave and not practicing medicine, Sinclair forged her husband’s signature and issued prescriptions for a dozen Medicaid patients at a cost of $8,195 to the Medicaid program, the warrant states.

Medicaid is a federal and state-funded program that provides health care to low and no-income individuals.

Sinclair was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court, G.A. No. 14, on November 10, 2015. The charges are merely accusations and she is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community is a class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Forgery in the Second Degree and Insurance Fraud are both class D felonies, each punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

The case will be prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received in this investigation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health.