Multiple children killed in Shreveport shooting
A home in the 300 block of West 79th Street in Shreveport was the scene of a shooting that left eight children dead on Sunday, April 19th.
- Winnsboro Mayor Alice Wallace has been arrested and charged with six counts of Medicaid fraud.
- Wallace is accused of illegally obtaining $75,000 in benefits from 2021 to 2026.
- The mayor allegedly did not report her income, marital status, or available health insurance.
- The investigation began after a referral from the Louisiana Department of Health.
The mayor was arrested and charged with Medicaid fraud by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill.
Murrill said Winnsboro Mayor Alice Wallace, 50, of Robinson Drive, was arrested April 21 and booked into the East Baton Rouge Jail. No bond has been set.
Wallace is charged with six counts of government benefits fraud in which the mayor illegally secured $75,000 in benefits from 2021 to 2026 in a Medicaid fraud scheme described by Murrill.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, if you defraud the hardworking taxpayers of Louisiana, you will go to prison,” Murrill said in a statement.
Murrill said special agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation after Louisiana Department of Health officials referred the charges to Murrill’s agency.
Wallace is accused of fraudulently obtaining Medicaid benefits for himself and his dependents.
Murrill said Wallace failed to report changes in her household income to the health department, failed to disclose her marital status and intentionally misrepresented her availability to health insurance provided through her employer.
Agents said the investigation revealed that Wallace and his dependents continued to receive Medicaid benefits from 2021 to 2026, even though they were receiving wages that made them ineligible for Medicaid benefits.
Winnsboro, with a population of approximately 5,000, is a parish in the Diocese of Franklin.
Mr. Wallace was elected mayor of Winnsboro starting in 2022, but he did not report the required information to LDH, including his employment, income, and whether he had medical insurance. Murrill’s representatives obtained an arrest warrant for Wallace through the 19th Judicial District Court.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network in Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
