Woman sentenced for providing false birth certificate information to DHW

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced a Kootenai County woman was sentenced on Thursday for furnishing false information regarding a birth certificate, a felony under Idaho Code 39-273(a)(1).

70-year-old Cathleen Weston, of Hauser, previously pleaded guilty to misrepresenting her credentials as a certified nurse midwife on a birth certificate. Weston had been operating a midwifery practice out of her home in Hauser since at least 2009. She did not have a nursing or midwifery license as required by state law.

First District Judge Lansing Haynes sentenced Weston to a withheld judgment with a suspended the sentence of one year of probation. She was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Prior to her guilty plea, Weston paid restitution to the State of Idaho in the amount of $19,404 to reimburse the Idaho Medicaid program for claims that were submitted for unlicensed midwifery services to Idaho Medicaid participants. She was also required to pay a civil penalty of $5,821.

The case was investigated jointly by the Medicaid Program Integrity Unit of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Idaho Attorney General. The case was prosecuted by Ken Robins, a deputy attorney general in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.