WASHINGTON – Vera Nyiawung, 34, a registered nurse from Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in connection with a $14 million health care fraud scheme that billed D.C. Medicaid for mental health services that were never provided or were grossly inflated, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Padding call lengths, recycling notes, and billing Medicaid for care that never happened isn’t healthcare—it’s organized theft,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Vera Nyiawung was trusted to oversee care for vulnerable youth but instead used her position to validate fake records and facilitate a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. My office will relentlessly prosecute those who exploit public healthcare programs for personal gain.”
Nyiawung pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Nyiawung faces up to 10 years in…
IT & DATA SECURITY (MITIGATING THE “INSIDER THREAT”)
As seen in the TD Bank case, an employee with too much “access” can sell your customer data to syndicates.
- Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP): Employees should only have access to the specific folders and databases required for their current task.
- Access Revocation: Have a “Termination Checklist” that ensures all digital access (Email, VPN, Banking) is revoked within 60 minutes of an employee resigning or being dismissed.
- System Logs & Audit Trails: Enable “Read/Write Logging” on your server. If a customer’s data is leaked, you need to know exactly which login accessed that record and at what time.
- Encryption at Rest: Ensure that sensitive files (like your customer ID numbers or payroll spreadsheets) are encrypted so that if a staff member copies them to a USB, they cannot be read.