§ 108A-64.  Medical assistance recipient fraud.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly and willfully and with intent to defraud make or cause to be made a false statement or representation of a material fact in an application for assistance under this Part, or intended for use in determining entitlement to such assistance.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any applicant, recipient or person acting on behalf of such applicant or recipient to knowingly and willfully and with intent to defraud, conceal or fail to disclose any condition, fact or event affecting such applicant's or recipient's initial or continued entitlement to receive assistance under this Part.

(b1) It is unlawful for any person knowingly, willingly, and with intent to defraud, to obtain or attempt to obtain, or to assist, aid, or abet another person, either directly or indirectly, to obtain money, services, or any other thing of value to which the person is not entitled as a recipient under this Part, or otherwise to deliberately misuse a Medicaid identification card. This misuse includes the sale, alteration, or lending of the Medicaid identification card to others for services and the use of the card by someone other than the recipient to receive or attempt to receive Medicaid program coverage for services rendered to that individual.

Proof of intent to defraud does not require proof of intent to defraud any particular person.

(c) (1) A person who violates a provision of this section shall be guilty of a Class I felony if the value of the assistance wrongfully obtained is more than four hundred dollars ($400.00).

(2) A person who violates a provision of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if the value of the assistance wrongfully obtained is four hundred dollars ($400.00) or less.

(d) For purposes of this section the word "person" includes any natural person, association, consortium, corporation, body politic, partnership, or other group, entity or organization. (1981, c. 275, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 817; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1995, c. 317, s. 1.)