Former Bedford Business Owner Sentenced For Medicare Fraud

BEDFORD, N.H. - A New York businesswoman was sentenced to three years of probation for improperly billing Medicare for toenail clipping services at a Bedford elderly care home.

According to U.S. Attorney Scott Murray's office, Judith Morale (formerly known as Judith Remo), 55, of Webster, New York, was sentenced to three years of probation following her conviction for health care fraud.

According to court documents, from 2006 to 2012, Morale owned and operated Bedford Geriatric Physical Therapy, LLC, a company that provided physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. Through the business, Morale provided routine foot care (e.g., toenail trimming, ingrown toenail repair and callus shaving) to patients in an assisted living facility in Bedford.

Even though Morale knew the services weren't covered under Medicare, she falsely described them as wound care, billing Medicare $41,127.89 over several years.

She previously pleaded guilty on December 18, 2017. As part of her sentence, Morale was ordered to pay restitution of $41,127.89.

“Ms. Morale defrauded Medicare out of thousands of dollars for her own personal enrichment,” said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Boston Division in a statement. “The FBI, working collaboratively with our law enforcement partners, will do everything we can to root out others like her, who are diverting scarce taxpayer funds from government programs, for their own greed-fueled schemes.”