Chicago doctor pleads guilty, gets 2 years probation for defrauding state out of $100K in Medicaid funding

CHICAGO - A Chicago doctor has been sentenced to two years of probation and 30 hours of community service for defrauding the state out of roughly $100,000 in Medicaid funding.

Dr. Manuela Farhi, 62, pleaded guilty to felony vendor fraud for allegedly billing Medicaid through her obstetrician and gynecology practice at 7010 W. North Ave., according to a statement from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

She was also ordered to pay the state $25,000 in restitution.

Between 2008 and 2015, she billed the state for services that weren’t provided to patients who actually missed appointments, and for services she claimed to have provided when she was out of the country, the state’s attorney’s office said.

Farhi was initially charged with vendor fraud, theft and forgery, the state’s attorney’s office said. The charges could’ve landed her 15 years in prison.