A federal grand jury in Topeka returned an indictment charging a Lawrence woman and three Florida residents in connection with a scheme to defraud Medicare, according to a news release Friday from the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas.

According to court documents, Steven A. Churchill, 36, of Boca Raton, Florida, Samson K. Solomon, 25, of Margate, Florida, Elaine J. Balsamo, 58, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Fawn J. Lickteig, 42, of Lawrence, are charged with:

• one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud;

• eight counts of health care fraud;

• six counts of mail fraud; and

• four counts of wire fraud.

Churchill and Balsamo are also charged with four counts of money laundering.

Despite claiming to be a retail pharmacy, the defendants are accused of establishing a fraudulent mail-order pharmacy. Between February 2020 and February 2021, the defendants allegedly used Freestate Pharmacy to submit false claims to Medicare for prescriptions for patients who had not spoken with the doctor and who had not requested the medication.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the FBI are investigating the case.