Minatare Woman Sentenced to Probation and Restitution for Medicaid Fraud

Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced today that a Minatare woman who owns Campbell Pharmacy in Oshkosh, Nebraska, was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $76,963.90 in restitution to Nebraska Medicaid after pleading guilty to one count of filing false Medicaid claims.

Joan Kicken, 65, was charged with one count of Fraudulently Obtaining a Payment on Behalf of a Recipient of Medical Assistance, a class IV felony. The maximum punishment for that crime is two years of imprisonment. There is no minimum. A second charge of forgery was dismissed in return for her guilty plea. Additionally, her pharmacist’s license has been revoked.

A joint investigation by state and federal officials found that Kicken submitted false claims to Nebraska Medicaid for prescription drugs that were not authorized by a medical practitioner. She was paid $76,963.90 for those false claims.

This case was investigated by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.