Other LanguagesSEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that the King County Superior Court yesterday convicted Elene Allonce of forging a nursing license that she used to fraudulently serve as a Medicaid healthcare provider. Allonce is sentenced to six months in jail, the most time allowed for this 16-year-old crime.
After the Washington State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) charged Allonce with forging a nursing license in 1999, she failed to appear for arraignment and a warrant was issued. The defendant then disappeared for sixteen years. She was recently returned to Washington state custody on that warrant after being convicted in federal court in New York for stealing patient records and submitting $10 million in false billings to Medicare— a separate scheme, using a different name. Allonce’s six-month sentence from Washington will run concurrently with the 12-year federal prison sentence she is currently serving.
“It is deplorable that fraudsters take advantage of the elderly and the most vulnerable among us for financial gain,” said Ferguson. “My office will hold those accountable who attempt to defraud taxpayers and evade justice.”
While taking classes at Bastyr University in Bothell, Wash., Allonce asked another student, who was a registered nurse, for a letter of recommendation. Allonce stated her future employer required the person writing the recommendation to include a copy of his or her nursing license. The defendant used this registered nurse’s number and fabricated another license, inserting her name instead.
Allonce then used the fraudulent license to apply for and obtain a registered nurse position at a Seattle Medicaid funded nursing facility. From May 1998 to June 1998 the defendant posed as a nurse, signing numerous medical documents and administering medications to patients.
The conviction announced today follows an investigation by the AGO’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit prompted by a Department of Health referral. Assistant Attorney General Yarden Weidenfeld prosecuted the case.
State and federal Medicaid authorities, including the Washington Department of Health and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, assisted significantly in the fraud enforcement of this matter.
Medicaid fraud control in Washington
The Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of healthcare provider fraud committed against the state’s Medicaid program. The unit also coordinates with local law enforcement authorities to investigate and prosecute abuse and neglect in cases involving vulnerable adults residing in Medicaid-funded residential facilities.
Attorney General Ferguson has requested legislation to reauthorize the Medicaid False Claims Act, enabling the AGO to continue its pursuit of the misappropriation of taxpayer funds. House Bill 1067 is currently pending before the Legislature.
Report suspected Medicaid fraud to:
- The Attorney General’s Office: www.atg.wa.gov/medicaid-fraud
- The Department of Social and Health Services: www.dshs.wa.gov/sesa/office-fraud-and-accountability
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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Attorney General Bob Ferguson is working hard to protect consumers and seniors against fraud, keep our communities safe, protect our environment and stand up for our veterans. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contact: Alison Dempsey-Hall, Deputy Communications Director