Sioux City mental health counselor gets probation for theft, fraud

Sioux City counselor gets probation for theft, fraud

SIOUX CITY — A Sioux City mental health counselor was placed on probation Monday for defrauding a health insurance company and Iowa's Medicaid program.

Amy Hecht, 40, had pleaded guilty in January in Woodbury County District Court to single counts of second-degree theft and third-degree fraudulent practice. As part of a plea agreement, 12 counts of fraudulent submission to an insurer and one count of tampering with records were dismissed.

District Judge Jeffrey Neary deferred judgment on the theft charge and, in accordance with the plea agreement, suspended a two-year prison sentence on the fraudulent practice charge. Neary placed Hecht on two years' probation, fined her a total of $1,880 and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.

Hecht must pay $5,372.50 in restitution to Blue Cross and Blue Shield, $5,624.12 — which includes investigation costs — to Iowa's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and $400 to Alyssa Panck.

Hecht was arrested in September after state regulators determined she provided false medical codes on patients' bills to provide additional reimbursement from Aug. 10, 2021, to Nov. 8, 2023. A state investigation showed Hecht created 261 false records by intentionally inputting false entries into medical records and then submitting fraudulent claims for 12 Foundations Mental Health Center patients.