Oregon Woman Sentenced to Four Years for Committing Fraud ‘To Feed Her Greed’

An Oregon woman stole the identity of at least 45 people, including prison inmates, to ‘feed her greed and her gambling addiction.’

Darla Kay Byus (55) was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane to four years in federal prison and ordered to pay $2,033.315 in restitution.

To Hide Profits Byus Filed False Tax Returns

In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecutor Joseph Huynh said Byus committed fraud over two years ‘to feed her greed and her gambling addiction’ and compounded her crime by filing false tax returns to hide the profits from her scheme.

The prosecutor said that Byus used the identities of at least 45 people for her fraudulent claims, with at least 15 of those names obtained from online jail roster searches.

Byus billed the Oregon Health Authority’s Medicaid for $1,582,877 for substance abuse services, from January 2019 to the end of August 2021, that were never performed. The money was wired to her business bank account by the Oregon Health Authority.

Appealing for a more lenient sentence of two years, the woman’s defense attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Kurt David Hermansen, said another person in Byus’ Prineville company, Choices Recovery Services, was to blame for leading his client astray. Hermansen said the business was run recklessly, engaging in ‘irresponsible business practices.’

Passing the four-year jail sentence yesterday (Tuesday) in the Eugene federal court, Judge McShane said Byus committed fraud over several years. He told the court that he had taken into consideration her history of a traumatic childhood, sexual abuse, and mental health, including post-traumatic stress and bipolar.

In her defense, Byus admitted what she had done was wrong, but ‘didn’t know how to stop doing it’ and continue helping people.

The court heard that Byus created fake patient names that she obtained from prison rosters and billed for substance abuse services that were never provided.

Apart from using the money to gamble, Byus bought four properties – three in Prineville, Crook County, and one in the city of John Day, Grant County, according to court records. The government will attempt to recoup the money from the sale of the properties.