Woman Pleads Guilty To Billing Medicaid For Fraudulent Services

SILVER SPRING, MD — A licensed attorney from Silver Spring has pleaded guilty to charges that she defrauded the D.C. Medicaid program out of more than $100,000.

Susan Engonwei Tingwei, 44, was in a law school program and was employed by two different home health agencies in Washington, D.C. at "various times" from 2016 to 2018. Her job was to help beneficiaries of Medicaid with daily living, which included eating, bathing and getting in and out of bed. During the time she was employed, Tingwei billed for services she did not actually perform, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney.

One example shows that she billed the company she worked for, which in turn bills Medicaid, for her work done at one home from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then at another home on the same day from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Investigators found that on that day, however, Tingwei had swiped into a building at the University of Maryland law school campus at 5:30 p.m., where she was a student, and swiped out at 9:29 p.m. Her cell phone showed she was in Baltimore from 8:03 a.m. to 9:31 p.m. that day, according to investigators.

She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2018.

Tingwei likely faces between 10 and 16 months in prison. She has agreed to to pay a restitution of $131,656.12.

Her sentencing hearing is on Feb. 22, 2022.