Prosthesis supplier pleads guilty to billing for products never received
Oct 11, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0266 · Published 2026-10-11 · Version 4 · Final
Jacqueline Pelphrey admitted $1,299,633.10 in losses from claims for custom breast prostheses patients did not order or receive. Her October 6 healthcare-fraud plea concerns Women’s Health Resources. Sentencing remained scheduled for December 29; the ten-year maximum was not an imposed sentence.
What happened
Jacqueline Pelphrey pleaded guilty October 6 in Hartford federal court to healthcare fraud. She owned and operated Women’s Health Resources Inc., doing business as Essentials for the Special Woman in Vernon, Connecticut, which sold post-mastectomy products including custom breast prostheses. According to the court-document account, beginning no later than August 2018 she submitted claims for custom products clients did not order, purchase or receive. The affected payers included Medicaid and other health insurance plans.
As part of the plea, Pelphrey admitted total losses of $1,299,633.10. She remained on bond pending a December 29 sentencing hearing in Bridgeport; the release describes a maximum possible ten-year term rather than a sentence already imposed. The admitted conduct makes the evidentiary chain from a patient’s actual order to custom production, fulfillment, delivery and claim material to the review. A product category or a supplier’s billing record alone would not establish that the particular patient requested and received the item. The case does not suggest that all custom prosthesis claims are improper.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Operationally relevant
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Why it matters
She admitted $1,299,633.10 in losses from custom breast prosthesis claims for items clients did not order, purchase or receive.
Recommended action
Match custom-item claims to orders, fulfillment and receipt records; reconcile patient complaints with claims and remittances.
Case details
- agencies
- DOJ, HHS-OIG
- entities
- Jacqueline Pelphrey, Women's Health Resources Inc. dba Essentials for the Special Woman
- action Type
- Criminal resolution
- event Date
- 2026-10-06
- alleged Conduct
- Admitted fraudulent custom breast prosthesis claims.
- resolution
- Guilty plea; sentencing scheduled December 29, 2026. No prison sentence imposed in this announcement.
Operational lessons
- She admitted $1,299,633.10 in losses from custom breast prosthesis claims for items clients did not order, purchase or receive.
- Match custom-item claims to orders, fulfillment and receipt records; reconcile patient complaints with claims and remittances.
Sources
- Prosthesis supplier pleads guilty to billing for products never receivedOfficial · DOJ · 2026-10-06 · Source review 2026-10-11
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