Mother will serve jail time for mistreating disabled daughter

SEDAN — A Chautauqua County woman has been ordered to pay $35,869.84 in restitution and was sentenced to 30 days in jail on convictions of Medicaid fraud, mistreatment of a dependent adult and animal cruelty, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a news release Monday.

Bonnie Newman, 61, of Moline, was found guilty by a Chautauqua County jury in November 2012 of one count of making a false claim to the Medicaid program, one count of mistreatment of a dependent adult and eight counts of cruelty to animals.

The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Sedan Police Department, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division. Local law enforcement and Adult Protective Services removed the defendant’s disabled adult daughter from her home in Sedan on March 5, 2009, due to unsanitary conditions. Numerous animals were also seized and removed from the defendant’s care.

Newman’s restitution will reimburse the Kansas Medicaid program, Rainbow Meadows Equine Rescue and investigative costs of the Kansas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division.

The defendant’s other daughter, Cheri Newman, also pleaded guilty to mistreatment of a dependent adult and conspiracy to defraud the Medicaid program. Cheri Newman was ordered to repay $9,743.04 to the Kansas Medicaid program.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Stefani Hepford and John Bryant from Schmidt’s office, with assistance from the Chautauqua County Attorney’s Office.