Mary Bidwell, 62 of Binghamton entered a guilty plea to Grand Larceny in Broome County Court and was sentenced to a three year conditional discharge for her role in defrauding the Medicaid program of more than $59,000.
Bidwell’s son, a 20-year old disabled Medicaid recipient residing in Binghamton with Bidwell, qualified for personal care services to be provided through the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program.
This is a program that permits disabled Medicaid recipients to hire and train their own personal care assistants.
The assistants cannot be a spouse or parent.
Bidwell hired her daughter, Amy Rivera to provide the Medicaid services to her disabled son.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s investigation revealed that in order to receive payment from Medicaid, Bidwell forged her daughter’s signature on timesheets.
Rivera, 32, was paid by Medicaid for more than 3,100 fraudulently billed hours over a two year period.
Rivera has not been charged in this case.
She was arrested on unrelated charges in June 2009 in Oklahoma and was sentenced on March 11, 2010 to a 10 year prison term.
