Henderson Co. woman charged with TennCare fraud for third time

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A Henderson County woman has been charged for the third time with doctor shopping for controlled substances and using TennCare as payment.

Julie Rae Smith, 38, of Lexington has been charged with 18 counts of TennCare fraud in Henderson County.

All 25 charges stem from an eight-month period in 2017, when authorities say Smith was treated on 54 separate dates by 32 providers over a three-county area.

During this time, Smith is accused of using TennCare benefits to fraudulently obtain prescriptions for the painkillers hydrocodone, percocet, tramadol, codeine-phospate and Tylenol 3.

TennCare fraud is a Class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison per charge.