WINNSBORO, La. — The mayor of a northeastern Louisiana town is accused of fraudulently receiving $75,000 in Medicaid benefits for herself and a dependent, authorities said.
Winnsboro Mayor Alice Wallace was arrested on six counts of Medicaid fraud charges on Tuesday by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, the Shreveport Times reported.
According to the charges, Wallace allegedly received the benefits over a five-year period beginning in 2021 by misrepresenting her income and marital status, the newspaper reported.
“Wallace was arrested for knowingly concealing and failing to disclose material facts affecting her and her dependents’ continued eligibility to receive benefits from the Louisiana Department of Health Medicaid program,” Murrill’s office said in a statement.
The arrest comes three weeks before Winnsboro’s mayoral election; Wallace is running for reelection.
Wallace has declined to comment, the Times reported. She also told KNOE that she had been advised not to comment by her attorney.
On her Facebook page, the mayor wrote that “They just energized Team Wallace.”
She is facing two Democratic opponents in the May 16 election, according to the newspaper -- Elbert “Poke” Lawrence and Muriel “Missy” Lynch.
“It’s election time; what else you got! I’m still standing!!” the post said. “I do believe that I will be vindicated,” the post said. “The devil is trying to embarrass and discredit leadership to possess power again through those who know nothing, that way they can run it!”
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Murrill said. “If you defraud the hardworking taxpayers of Louisiana, you’re going to jail.”