U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that EVELYN ODOMS, age 64, of New Orleans, pled guilty today to one count of aiding and abetting health care fraud.

On March 12, 2015, ODOMS was indicted along with 18 other defendants in a 26-count Indictment charging approximately $30,052,295 in Medicare fraud and the BP fraud.

According to court documents, ABIDE billed Medicare for providing home health services to an ABIDE patient for approximately five years. During that time period, ODOMS, a licensed practical nurse, was supposed to teach the patient how to treat and handle different diagnoses. But ODOMS never observed the patient exhibit symptoms of the diagnoses and never taught the patient about the diagnoses. ODOMS falsely documented services she was supposed to provide to the patient, documentation that Medicare relied upon to regulate Medicare providers. ABIDE counted on ODOMS to compromise her independent medical observations and ethics to participate in the ongoing health care fraud scheme perpetrated by ABIDE and ODOMS’ co-defendants.

ODOMS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years, followed by three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan set sentencing for October 28, 2015.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrice Harris Sullivan, Sharan Lieberman and Andre Lagarde are in charge of the prosecution.