Tennessee woman pleads guilty to defrauding health insurance of $6.9 million over three years with false bills

A Tennessee optometrist has pleaded guilty to a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme that federal prosecutors say defrauded Medicare and other government programs of millions of dollars over several years.Helen Boerman, 48, of Brentwood, pleaded guilty earlier this week to defrauding Medicare of approximately $6.9 million through false billings related to her eye care clinic, Brentwood Eye Care.“Eradicating fraud in federal programs and holding fraudsters accountable is one of the Department of Justice’s highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Braden Boucek.He added: “This case demonstrates our commitment to investigating fraud, finding those responsible and holding them accountable and jailing them. We will not tolerate fraud against taxpayers in the Middle District of Tennessee. “According to court documents, Borman used her practice for approximately three and a half years to submit false claims to Medicare. Prosecutors said she billed for wound care treatments she did not actually provide, in part by splitting up single-use medical products and creating false documents to justify the additional charges.In one example cited in court documents, Borman allegedly filed claims for multiple days of treatment for two patients, even though records showed they only attended appointments on three of those days. She then directed staff to create false records to match the content of the bill submissions. The scheme’s scope extended beyond Medicare coverage, and Borman submitted false claims to TennCare, Tennessee Medicaid and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program between March 2020 and October 2024.Borman admitted that she submitted a total of approximately $11 million in false claims and received approximately $6.9 million in payments.She will be sentenced on September 10, 2026 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.