CHARLESTON, WV - West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline, announced today that a Mercer County woman, Patsy M. Wasson, age 49 of Princeton, was indicted on six (6) felony counts related to insurance fraud.  On February 12, 2008 a Mercer County Grand Jury indicted Ms. Wasson on six (6) felony counts of "obtaining possession of a schedule-three controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery or deception" during the period from February of 2004 through July of 2006.  Ms. Wasson is alleged to have visited over seven (7) physicians on 27 separate occasions, and obtained prescriptions for over 1,700 Hydrocodone tablets during that time. An arraignment date has yet to be set.  If convicted, Ms. Wasson faces a one (1) to ten (10) year sentence in a state penitentiary and a fine of up to $10,000, or both, on each felony count.

Commissioner Cline stated, "Health insurance premiums continue to rise as do the cost of treatment and medication and fraud needs to be dealt with severely in order to try and control these costs.  An estimated $54 billion dollars in healthcare fraud is committed every year and makes up a large amount of premium costs each year for employers and customers a like."

Tweet

Contact Information