The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Gretchen E. Lewis, 58, of Williamstown, Vermont, was sentenced in Vermont Superior Court, Orleans Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count of Unauthorized Practice of Psychotherapy and one misdemeanor count of defrauding Vermont Medicaid by False Pretenses.
Ms. Lewis’ guilty pleas are the result of an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit (MFRAU) and the Secretary of State’s Office of Professional Regulation (OPR). In August of 2021, Ms. Lewis was the subject of OPR professional discipline, which included the condition that she would not work more than forty hours per week. A subsequent investigation by OPR and MFRAU found that, despite the condition, Ms. Lewis continued to bill Vermont Medicaid for services in excess of forty hours per week. Additionally, she billed Medicaid for other unauthorized services and failed to maintain patient treatment records meeting even minimal professional standards.
The Court, Judge Rory Thibault presiding, sentenced the defendant to a two-year term of probation, payment of $22,750 in restitution to Vermont Medicaid, 100 hours of community service, and a prohibition on any further work as a Medicaid service provider. If Ms. Lewis violates the terms of her probation, she faces up to one year in jail.
This matter was jointly investigated by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit (MFRAU) and the Secretary of State’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
If you suspect Medicaid fraud, contact MFRAU at https://ago.vermont.gov/medicaid-fraud-report-form.
The Medicaid Fraud and Residential Abuse Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $1,332,724 for Federal fiscal year FY 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $444,241 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of Vermont.
CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Outreach and Communications Coordinator, 802-828-3171