Photo courtesy of Flickr/Joe Gratz
This is how lawyers get a bad name.
A would-be attorney named Janise Lampley pleaded guilty today in federal court to three counts of making false statements after allegedly billing the state's Medicaid program for providing home healthcare services — even while she was clearly in other places.
Places like Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta and Florida — where she was hanging out even while claiming to be working six to eight hours a day in Missouri. And also places like Jefferson City — where Lampley took the bar exam to become a lawyer even while billing the Medicaid program for her time "caregiving."
Yes, really.
Lampley is currently a member in good standing with the Missouri Bar, according to a spokeswoman, so apparently she passed that test. Multi-tasking!
Lampley's LinkedIn page lists her current employer as the Missouri State Public Defender, but a spokesman for the office confirms that her last day of work was last week, on October 31. Probably smart to go separate ways.
Lampley will be sentenced on February 9, 2015. Her charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and fines up to $250,000.
Incidentally, the U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that Lampley kicked back some of the money to the patients she was supposedly caring for — she "sometimes gave the two patients cash payments of $100-$200 per paycheck."
Lawyers!
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Editor's note: We updated this post after publication to include details of Lampley's employment.
