Locked up: The convicted owner-operators of a Zachary health care company have been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution to the state for their roles in a Medicaid fraud scheme. The Associated Press reports Extraordinary Care Network Inc. owner, 63-year-old Barbara Sadler, has been sentenced to 44 months, and company chief financial officer, 42-year-old Sedric Blakes, was ordered to spend three years behind bars on Thursday. In addition to the restitution, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson ordered Sadler and Blakes to each forfeit $1.2 million in proceeds from their fraudulent scheme. Sadler and Blakes admitted last fall to documenting one-on-one services that weren’t provided as represented, fabricating progress notes and forging signatures of unwitting company employees to support the bogus claims.
Closing the door: Convicted sex offenders in Louisiana won’t be able to work in door-to-door sales. Gov. John Bel Edwards’ has signed a bill enacting the prohibition. The Associated Press reports the bill by Sen. Gerald Long, R-Winnfield, bans registered sex offenders from soliciting door-to-door for any kind of business. Violators of the measure will face prison sentences from five to 10 years, with three years required to be served, and could be fined up to $10,000. It will take effect Aug. 1. Already in Louisiana, registered sex offenders can’t drive a bus or taxi or work in an industry that requires going into someone’s home to provide a service.
On the dotted line: A coalition of mayors of cities and towns along the Mississippi River says it has added new organizations to an international pledge to protect the world’s rivers in the face of threats from climate change and population growth. The Associated Press reports the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative says new groups signed the pledge Thursday at an assembly of the International Network of Basin Organizations in Merida, Mexico. The new signatories are the North American Network of Basin Organizations, the Brazilian Network of Basin Organizations, the Mediterranean Network of Basin Organizations and the African Network of Basin Organizations. Those groups represent more than 70 nations. Signatories pledge to fight river pollution, urban runoff and harmful agricultural practices while also planting new vegetation.
