I Ran a $4 Million Medicare Scam — Then the FBI Showed Up 8 Years Later | Sharita Richardson

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.9 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 98 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sharita Richardson went from respected educator and mental health business owner to federal inmate. Raised by a single mom in North Carolina, Sharita followed a passion for helping others, leaving behind a career in teaching to open her own mental health agency. But when government regulations changed and the money stopped flowing, she found herself in financial crisis — and made a life-altering decision. What started as a desperate move turned into a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme. Years later, the FBI showed up. In this interview, Sharita breaks down how it all happened, the day she was arrested, and what 23 months in federal prison taught her about survival, guilt, and redemption. #MedicareFraud #TrueCrime #PrisonStory #WhiteCollarCrime #MentalHealthBusiness #LockedInWithIanBick #FBIArrest #FederalPrison #SharitaRichardson #redemptionstory Connect with Sharita Richardson: Instagram: @IamSharitaMona TikTok: @SharitaMona Website: www.freesharita.com Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Get 50% off the Magic Mind offer here: https://www.magicmind.com/IANB50. #magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance Presented by Tyson 2.0 & Wooooo Energy: https://tyson20.com/ https://woooooenergy.com/ Use code LOCKEDIN for 20% OFF Wooooo Energy Buy Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00:00 The Rise and Fall of a Medicare Fraud Scheme 00:05:50 Career Shift from Law School to Teaching 00:11:45 Starting a Group Home: From Idea to Reality 00:17:52 The Journey from Teacher to Entrepreneur 00:24:11 Overcoming Self-Doubt and Insecurity 00:30:53 Discovering a System Scam 00:36:56 Mastering Accreditation Consulting 00:42:10 Understanding Fluffed Billing Practices 00:48:07 Understanding the Group Home Business Model 00:53:55 Struggling to Maintain Lifestyle Amidst Financial Pressure 01:00:00 Life-Altering Decision to Start Over 01:06:00 Unexpected Encounter with the FBI 01:12:01 Confrontation and Revelation at Starbucks 01:17:32 Understanding Conspiracy Charges 01:23:12 Life Transformation After Incarceration 01:29:11 Transitioning from Teaching to Entrepreneurship Powered by: Just Media House : https://www.justmediahouse.com/ Creative direction, design, assets, support by FWRD: https://www.fwrd.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by SimplySafe.
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0:25.6	I just remember the one time I put in this bill was like 60,000 and I remember hitting seeing, I remember sending like, oh my God, this is so much.
0:38.6	This is so much. At that point, you're like, fuck it. I done all this. It might as well go.
0:43.1	And when I called that system that Sunday night and like a lot of it, like 58 something, something had come through.
0:50.3	I was like, shit.
0:52.1	Sharita Richardson seemed to have it all a thriving mental health agency, a growing team,
0:57.4	and a passion for helping others. But behind the success was a storm brewing.
1:01.8	After walking away from a stable teaching career in North Carolina to chase her dream,
1:06.3	new regulations hit her business hard. Desperate to stay afloat,
1:10.2	Shurita made a choice that would change
1:11.8	her life forever, running a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme. Eight years later, the FBI came
1:18.3	knocking. This is a story of how a respected businesswoman ended up serving nearly two years
1:24.1	in federal prison. Sherita, welcome to Locked in. Welcome. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks so much for coming. You came from North Carolina today? Yes, Greensboro, North Carolina. Yes. Is that where you're from, too? Did you grow up there? I'm originally from a small town called Harrell's, North Carolina. It's in between Wilmington, which is the coast and
1:45.5	Fayetteville, which is like the military base. So it's a very, very rural area. Lots of farmland.
1:52.3	I think there's only like a stoplight, maybe five miles down the street. So really, really
1:57.0	small rural country town. What was your upbringing like? So I was born on Newton's Cross Road.
	...

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