On September 21, 2012, 61 year old Eileen Small and 64 year old Herbert Small, of Ketchikan, were sentenced by Judge William Carey for medical assistance fraud.

Eileen Small was sentenced to spend one year in prison and five years on probation for her felony convictions for medical assistance fraud and misconduct involving a controlled substance. She will be required to pay over $8000 in restitution along with Herbert Small. She already completed 80 hours of community work service as part of her sentence. If she violates the terms of her probation, she could be required to serve up to 30 additional months in prison.

Herbert Small was convicted of misdemeanor medical assistance fraud and sentenced to a suspended sentence. He will be on probation for three years and could be sent to jail for up to six months if he violates his probation.

The convictions stem from an investigation by the Alaska Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that began in 2009. Eileen Small had been licensed by the State of Alaska as an advanced nurse practitioner. She had been the owner of A Woman’s Place, where she worked as a nurse midwife. Herbert Small worked part time at the clinic and assisted with billing.

The Board of Nursing, as a result of several issues related to patient care, suspended Eileen Small’s advanced nurse practitioner license in July 2009. After receiving notice of the suspension from the Board of Nursing, Ms. Small continued to treat patients and write prescriptions. Mr. Small submitted claims for reimbursement for the prohibited treatment of those patients.

At Friday’s sentencing, Judge Carey commented that Ms. Small had no right to continue treating patients and writing prescriptions. Judge Carey observed that Ms. Small acted for financial gain but also because of hubris and pride. He hoped that Ms. Small’s sentence would deter others from similar crimes and that it would reaffirm societal norms.

Source: State of Alaska Department of Law