Great Falls man fined $70,000 for scheme to defraud Medicaid

GREAT FALLS  — A Great Falls man who admitted to lying about his income to receive more than $75,000 in Medicaid health care benefits was fined $70,000 and sentenced to three years of probation today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Dustin Tempel, 39, pleaded guilty in June to health care fraud.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court also ordered $75,493 restitution.

In court documents, the government alleged that during an investigation of Temple’s mother, Lynn Temple, for fraudulently inflating construction costs while building a home for a client in Great Falls, investigators learned that Tempel had underreported his income by more than $300,000 during a five-year period. During the period of underreporting, Temple applied for Medicaid, again underrepresenting his actual income. As a result, Temple received $75,493 from Medicaid that he was not entitled to receive from 2017 to 2020. Medicaid is a federal health care benefit program that provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women and elderly adults with disabilities. Lynn Temple, who was the finance manager for William Tempel Construction, was sentenced in April 2022 to 14 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $415,221 restitution for conviction on wire fraud.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan G. Weldon prosecuted the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.

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