Thomson businesswoman seeks reduced sentence

Jul. 24--The owner of a Thomson medical equipment supply company is set for sentencing next week, and her attorneys have petitioned the judge to slash her potential prison term for Medicare fraud and other crimes in half.

Detra Wiley Pate was convicted in April of 33 counts of health care fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to court documents and trial testimony, Pate, the owner of Southern Respiratory of Thomson, submitted thousands of false claims, fabricated patient files and falsified prescriptions from doctors. Prosecutors contend she defrauded health care insurance programs of more than $1 million for crimes dating back to 2014.

But a sentencing memorandum filed Monday implores U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall to consider more than the prosecution's case against Pate.

"Because Detra Pate has lived a life devoted to family, faith and community, but for this crime, and because her children need her in their lives as they transition into adulthood, this court should impose a substantially below-guidelines sentencing," the memorandum reads.

The probation officer who prepared the sentencing recommendation report for the judge calculated Pate's guideline range of 10 to 12 years with an additional, mandatory consecutive sentence of two years. Pate's attorneys suggest a more appropriate sentence of just over five years in prison.

"The court should not overlook the stigma of being a convicted felon, of living in a small town, of losing a business that provided a service to help people in need, or of the ridicule both she and her family have had to endure through this process," Pate's attorneys wrote. She lost her husband of 25 years to divorce, and her emotional, mental and physical health have deteriorated throughout the process, and contemplating being away from her two children as they begin their lives is devastating, they wrote.

At least 77 people wrote letters of support on Pate's behalf. The letters portray her as deeply caring and compassionate, and a Christian in words and deeds who cared for each of her parents as they fell into ill health and died and a mentally disabled uncle who she cared for over the past decade, according to the memorandum.

The letters often detail how Pate provided medical equipment free of charge to those in need without funds or insurance coverage, food for the hungry, Christmas presents for children who otherwise would have gone without, and homes, jobs and money to those in need.

Federal prosecutors can respond to the defense's memorandum if they choose.

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