An Indiana school superintendent is facing charges of insurance fraud after using her health insurance to get medical treatment for a sick student.
People is reporting that the superintendent of Elwood Community Schools, Casey Smitherman, noticed a 15-year-old student was absent on January 9. Upon checking on the boy, Smitherman worried he was seriously ill:
“I went to his home to check on him, and he told me that he had not felt well enough to come to school,” Smitherman said in a written statement provided to The Indy Star by her attorney Bryan Williams. “After making sure he had eaten, I could tell he had some of the symptoms of strep throat. As a parent, I know how serious this illness can be if left untreated, and I took him to an emergency clinic.”
After one clinic refused to see him because Smitherman was not his legal guardian, she signed him in to a different clinic under her son’s name. She then paid $233 for a bottle of Amoxicillin, also prescribed to her son.
After the boy told other students what happened, Smitherman turned herself in to police and was charged with three felonies, including insurance fraud, identity deception and official misconduct, as well as another misdemeanor charge of insurance fraud.
Smitherman has helped the student, who lives with an elderly relative, in the past as well:
Smitherman has previously donated clothes, food, and Christmas gifts to the boy and his family, but refrained from calling the Department of Child Services in fear of him being placed in foster care. An investigation by DCS is currently underway.
She’s been offered a diversion agreement, which allows her to admit to committing a crime without facing a criminal conviction.