WINFIELD – (April 28, 2020) – An Arkansas City man has been ordered to repay more than $2,500 to the Kansas Medicaid Program after being found guilty of Medicaid fraud, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
Tyresse Jasper Boyd Hardiman, 21, pleaded guilty in September 2019 in Cowley County District Court to one felony count of making a false claim to the Medicaid Program. Cowley County Chief Judge Nicholas St. Peter yesterday ordered Hardiman to repay $2,501.92 to the Kansas Medicaid Program. Chief Judge St. Peter also sentenced Hardiman to 24 months probation with an underlying prison sentence of 14 months. If at any point Hardiman’s probation is revoked and he is ordered to serve the underlying prison term, he will serve 12 months on post-release supervision upon the conclusion of the sentence. Convictions such as this one may also result in a period during which the defendant is prohibited from being paid wages through a government health care program.
An investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division revealed that Hardiman submitted false claims to the Medicaid program that between January 2018 and October 2018 he had provided in-home care to a Medicaid beneficiary.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Ed Brancart of Schmidt’s office.
Because of restrictions on court operations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Judge St. Peter presided from the district courtroom in Winfield with the proceeding publicly live-streamed over the internet. Hardiman, his attorney and Brancart each appeared from locations out of the courtroom by way of an electronic group meeting software. All parties agreed to the proceeding being conducted in this manner.