On July 13, 2017, the South Dakota Attorney General announced that the state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit had participated in a nationwide coordinated health care fraud sweep alongside federal, state and local law enforcement. The national action resulted in criminal and civil charges against 412 individuals, including 115 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals.
South Dakota's contribution consisted of two cases involving alleged drug diversion by medication aides, one in Yankton County and one in Turner County. In this case, a medication aide was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance, hydrocodone, a class 5 felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine.
The release does not describe how the alleged diversion was detected, where the aide worked, or whether the aide entered a plea. A charge is an allegation, not a finding of guilt, and no disposition is reported in the source document.