NEW BERN, N.C. — A federal judge has sentenced a Kinston woman to six years in federal prison for her role in a wide-ranging healthcare fraud conspiracy that defrauded North Carolina Medicaid of more than $12 million.
Francine Sims Super, 64, was sentenced in U.S. District Court and ordered to pay restitution totaling $15,286,912.91 to North Carolina Medicaid and $373,810.00 to the Internal Revenue Service. Super pleaded guilty on Aug. 14, 2025, to participating in a healthcare fraud conspiracy that involved illegal kickback payments, the use of materially false documents, and failure to file a tax return.
According to court documents, Super served as an office manager for Life Touch LLC, a substance abuse treatment company operating in Kinston and Goldsboro. Over a four-year period, Super and others paid more than $1 million in kickbacks to patients in the form of gift cards to induce them to enroll in treatment services. Patients were allegedly paid based on how many days per week they attended services.
To conceal the scheme, Super created false documentation designed to mislead Medicaid auditors. The kickback arrangements ultimately resulted in more than $12 million in Medicaid payments to Life Touch LLC.
Investigators also determined that Super and others received kickbacks from 1st Choice Healthcare Services, LLC, a laboratory contracted to perform drug testing for Life Touch patients. Super failed to report this income and did not file a tax return accounting for the proceeds.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle emphasized the seriousness of the crime, stating that fraud against government programs is not victimless and directly harms American taxpayers. Federal officials from the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General echoed those concerns, noting that healthcare fraud undermines trust in vital public programs and exploits resources meant for individuals in genuine need.
The case was investigated by the FBI, IRS, HHS-OIG, and the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Investigations Division. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Gilmore and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tasha Gardner. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan.
