COLUMBUS — Former Riverside Recovery Services owner Amy Smart pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud on Oct. 9.
According to court documents, U.S. attorneys dismissed 12 counts of false health care statements.
U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole sentenced Smart to 12 months of supervised release. She must obtain employment of at least 30 hours a week and is barred from holding a position where she would have fiduciary responsibility or control over finances of another person, business or government funding without the permission of her probation officer.
The sentence also bars her from participating in any federal or Ohio health care benefit programs.
Cole confined Smart to her home except for work, school, religious services, medical or mental health treatment, attorney visits and court appearances.
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PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.