A federal judge sentenced a Kinston woman to 6 years in federal prison and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $15,286,912.91 to North Carolina Medicaid and $373,810.00 to Internal Revenue Service. On August 14, 2025, Francine Sims Super, age 64, pleaded guilty to a healthcare fraud conspiracy which included making and receiving illegal payments, making and using materially false documents, and failing to file a tax return. According to court documents and other information presented in court, Super worked as an office manager of Life Touch LLC, a substance abuse treatment company based in Kinston and Goldsboro.
Super and others paid more than $1 million in kickbacks to patients in the form of gift cards to induce patients to register for services. Over four years, Super and other Life Touch LLC employees and agents, paid patients based on the number of days per week that the patients showed up to receive services. To try and hide her scheme, Super created false documents intended to deceive Medicaid auditors. The gift card inducements resulted in more than $12 million in payments from Medicaid to Life Touch LLC. Super and others also received kickbacks from 1st Choice Healthcare Services, LLC, a lab company hired to perform drug testing services for Life Touch LLC patients. Super also failed to file a tax return that accounted for this income.