LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
A Las Vegas woman pocketed nearly $20,000 in cash from a breast implant scheme that took advantage of military insurance meant to help people with breast cancer, the Nevada Attorney General said.
According to the office of Katherine Cortez Masto, Shanita Flax, 31, worked as a civilian contractor in the plastic surgery department at Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital located at Nellis Air Force Base from 2008 to 2010.
Since the hospital is a military institution, its patients consist entirely of military personnel, retired military personnel or their dependents.
One of Flax's duties at the hospital was to discuss pricing with females who were considering undergoing breast augmentation procedures. If the procedure is for breast reconstruction following breast cancer or an occupational injury, the surgery is completely covered by the patient's government issued insurance, according to the Nevada Attorney General. If the procedure is for cosmetic reasons, the patient is required to pay for both the procedure and the actual breast implants.
Flax allegedly requested cash from the patients to pay for the implants, kept the cash and then ordered the implants through the government supply chain as though they were for a cancer patient. Through this method, an indictment of Flax alleges, she was able to obtain $9,200 from the victims and defraud the United States Air Force out of an additional $10,200.
"Our office takes seriously any efforts to defraud citizens of Nevada and any branch of the government," said Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto. "That this scheme targeted military personnel and made use of government insurance for cancer patients makes this egregious crime even more sinister."
Flax was indicted on 18 counts of theft and one count of attempted theft.
"Nellis Air Force Base has traditionally had a very close working relationship with the Nevada Attorney General's office," said 99th Air Base Wing commander, Col. Barry Cornish. "In this particular case, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations detachment here worked with state investigators from the insurance fraud division for nearly two years to bring to justice someone who was clearly defrauding our Airmen and their families. I am proud of the teamwork involved on all sides to protect our military men and women and their families, as well as to ensure criminals are apprehended and prosecuted."
The indictment is a culmination of a joint investigation by the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Fraud Unit of the Nevada Attorney General's Office, and was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Brian Williams.
If you are a victim in this case contact Nellis Air Force Office of Special Investigations at 702-652-3433.
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Shanita Flax (LVMPD)
