A 43-year-old Daytona Beach woman was found liable this week for defrauding Medicaid of more than $210,000.

Vidya Bhoolai, who owned and operated two Volusia County assisted-living facilities, billed Medicaid for services she never provided, the Attorney General's Office said.

On Tuesday, she was ordered by Leon Circuit Court Judge William Gary to pay more than $640,000 for numerous violations of Florida's False Claims Act. The ruling was a result of the Attorney General's Office's civil lawsuit against Bhoolai.

The $640,000 includes fines and the $210,000 officials said she stole.

'Medicaid exists to help people who need essential medical care and can't provide it for themselves,' said Sandi Copes, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office. 'Anytime someone defrauds the system, they are depriving Floridians of that health care.'

Bhoolai was arrested two years ago after an investigation. She used Medicaid's online filing system to charge the state for 30 patients who lived as far away as Tallahassee with relatives or in other assisted-living facilities, according to the documents.

Several patients did not live in either of Bhoolai's facilities, Radiant Star Manor and Rising Sun Manor, documents show. Both facilities are now closed.

The Attorney General's Office's civil lawsuit against Bhoolai contended that she submitted more than 300 false claims to Medicaid.

Bhoolai was also charged criminally in the case. In December, she pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 10 years of probation. A circuit-court judge also required her to reimburse Medicaid $60,000 and repay the state for the cost of its investigation and prosecution.

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