NEW YORK (WKBW) — A Wyoming County optician was sentenced on charges in connection to Medicaid fraud Thursday.
The Office of the Attorney General announced optician Thomas Foote, 59 of Wyoming County, previously pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the fourth degree. Thursday he was sentenced to 90 days in state prison, followed by five years probation and he is ordered to pay $74,000 in restitution.
According to the OAG, Foote fraudulently received approximately $74,000 in Medicaid payments between 2016 and 2019 by billing for services that were never provided. An investigation revealed many of the patients he claimed to have fitted eyeglasses for were deceased. Nursing home visitor logs and records also revealed he never visited nursing homes on dates he claimed to have provided services.
New Yorkers have every expectation that doctors and health professionals are providing services in their best interest, but this optician was totally blinded by greed. Not only did he cheat our state to line his own pockets, he shamelessly used the names of deceased nursing home residents to cover his tracks. Let today’s conviction serve as a warning that fraud will never be tolerated in our state, and we will not hesitate to hold those accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
