Unhealthy Feet

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted the consensual license revocation of an attorney convicted of health care and wire fraud

Between July 3, 2020 and December 30, 2022, without the knowledge or consent of the owner of Healthy Feet, Attorney Smith submitted approximately 288 fraudulent claims for reimbursement to Medicaid for oximeter devices. The claims were fraudulent because the devices were never purchased or provided to patients. This scheme resulted in the payment of $559,197.67 to the entities designated by Attorney Smith, which she later personally received due to other acts of fraud.

On or about September 2, 2014, Attorney Smith, without the knowledge or consent of the business owner, changed the bank account that received Medicaid payments from Healthy Feet’s JPMorgan Chase business account to her personal account at Regions Bank. Then, between September 2, 2014 and December 3, 2022, Attorney Smith fraudulently received approximately $1,194,942.07 in wired transfers of Medicaid payments that were intended to be received by Healthy Feet or its owner. As one example, on or about July 31, 2019, Attorney Smith fraudulently caused Medicaid to deposit approximately $24,339.38 into her personal Regions Bank account.

Additionally

Additionally, Attorney Smith jointly owned residential property on Mallard View Lane, Indianapolis, Indiana, with her former spouse. On or about April 17, 2023, and without knowledge or consent of her former spouse, Attorney Smith agreed to sell the property to a property development company for approximately $380,000. Between April 22, 2023 and April 26, 2023, Attorney Smith used her personal email account to send and receive messages and documents to and from the title company regarding the sales transaction, including a form indicating that all proceeds from the sale should be conveyed to her and not split with her former spouse. Attorney Smith also fraudulently prepared a quitclaim deed, forging her former spouse’s signature and a notary signature, the effect of which was to convey all interest in the property to Attorney Smith. Attorney Smith recorded the fraudulent deed, closed the property transaction without her former spouse’s knowledge, and received approximately $347,948.79 in net proceeds from the sale.

Separately, Attorney Smith had a relative who owned residential property on Kessler Boulevard North Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana. On April 4, 2023, Attorney Smith electronically submitted a fraudulent application to the Indiana Homeowner Assistance Fund (IHAF) for monthly mortgage payment assistance and mortgage reinstatement assistance for the residence. The application falsely represented that Attorney Smith was her then-deceased relative. On June 13, 2023, Attorney Smith forged the signature of her relative on documents, including a promissory note, a closing approval form, and a mortgage, and transmitted said documents in order to complete the IHAF application process. Around June 20, 2023, IHAF paid $6,696.83 in mortgage reinstatement assistance for the mortgage loan on the Kessler Boulevard property.

Respondent also engaged in tax evasion.

Sanction

We further conclude that revocation of Attorney Smith’s license to practice law in Wisconsin is the only appropriate sanction for her misconduct. This court has repeatedly granted petitions for consensual license revocation based on criminal conduct involving tax evasion, filing false tax returns, wire fraud, and other serious financial crimes.

(Mike Frisch)