PROVIDENCE – A Woonsocket woman who allegedly promised free custom-fit shoes for diabetics and medical equipment for arthritis sufferers who were Medicare beneficiaries has pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicare of more than $70,000, announced U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha. Her targets were all residents at Rhode Island senior centers, housing complexes and assisted living centers.

Sonja Ascoli, 59, of Woonsocket is charged in U.S. District Court in Providence on Monday with allegedly participating in a scheme to entice Medicare beneficiaries to order products and medical equipment from the company she represented, Planned Eldercare, of Illinois, by promising that the products would be provided “at no cost” to them, according to a news release from Neronha's office.

It is alleged that once Ascoli obtained some beneficiaries Medicare and physician information, she ordered as many products as possible without regard to whether the beneficiaries actually requested the products or had medical need for the equipment. When beneficiaries complained about receiving items they did not order, it is alleged that Ascoli responded by telling them, “keep the products in the closet until you need them.”

She alleged to have defrauded Medicare of a total of $70, 354.

The U.S. attorney also alleges that as part of the scheme, Ascoli, upon receiving products and equipment returned to her by beneficiaries, did not send the items back to Planned Eldercare, but kept them and gave them to individuals who would not otherwise have qualified for the products. These actions resulted in Medicare paying for products that were not received by beneficiaries and Ascoli allegedly keeping any commissions she had earned on the products sold.

It's alleged that Ascoli was the highest paid outside sales representative employed by Planned Eldercare for the years 2007 and 2008, who, like other sales representatives working for the company, was paid on a commission basis.