UPDATE: Warner Robins woman sentenced for $5.4M Georgia Medicaid fraud
Prosecutors say fraudulent medical equipment claims drained more than $5.4 million from the program.
UPDATE (1/13/26): Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced Tuesday that 63-year-old Elizabeth Sue Ivester of Warner Robins has been sentenced in federal court after pleading guilty to one count of health care fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
According to Carr’s office, Ivester was sentenced January 8 to 11 years, with the first seven years to be served in federal prison, followed by strict probation. She was also ordered to pay $5,437,283.26 in restitution for defrauding the Georgia Medicaid program of more than $5.4 million through fraudulent medical equipment claims.
ORIGINAL STORY (7/1/25):
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Warner Robins woman has been indicted on federal charges after prosecutors say she defrauded Georgia’s Medicaid program of more than $5.4 million.
According to a news release from the Office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, 62-year-old Elizabeth Sue Ivester was charged in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The charges include conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The indictment accuses Ivester, the owner and operator of Liberty Medical, Inc., of submitting false claims to Medicaid using recipients’ identification numbers. Prosecutors say she claimed one physician had ordered more than 77,000 pieces of durable medical equipment (DME), which were never ordered or delivered.
“Prosecuting Medicaid fraud is a top priority for our office, and we’re proud to work with our federal partners in this effort,” Carr said. “Defrauding Medicaid is the same as stealing taxpayer dollars, and we will hold violators accountable.”
A federal grand jury returned the indictment on May 14. Ivester was arrested by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and arraigned on June 17 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles H. Weigle.
“The scale of today’s Takedown is unprecedented, and so is the harm we’re confronting,” HHS-OIG Acting Inspector General Juliet T. Hodgkins said. “Individuals who attempt to steal from the federal health care system and put vulnerable patients at risk will be held accountable.”
According to the release, the charges are part of a coordinated national operation involving 324 defendants accused of defrauding programs intended for the care of elderly and disabled individuals.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi commented on the national sweep.
“This record-setting Health Care Fraud Takedown delivers justice to criminal actors who prey upon our most vulnerable citizens and steal from hardworking American taxpayers,” she said.
