SMYTH COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) — A Marion woman was convicted on multiple charges after prosecutors say she defrauded the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services.

A news release from the Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins’s office states Karen Michelle Brooks, 56, was convicted of the following:

• Felony Medicaid Fraud
• Felony Obtaining Money by False Pretenses
• Misdemeanor Identity Theft
• Misdemeanor Computer Fraud

Brooks was previously employed as a patient care technician for a disabled adult when prosecutors say she falsely reported her days and hours worked. The release states she also “illegally accessed a co-worker’s account to claim time that she did not work.”

According to prosecutors, Brooks’s actions led to fraudulent payments and cost thousands of taxpayer dollars that were meant for proper and actual care of vulnerable Virginians.

Brooks was sentenced to 22 years in the Virginia Department of Corrections; however, the Smyth County Circuit Court suspended the sentence to adhere to the state’s guidelines. Instead, Brooks will be on probation without active incarceration due to her lack of a criminal history.

She was also ordered to repay $47,809.81 to the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services and barred from ever participating in Medicare or Medicaid healthcare programs, according to Blevins’s office.

“This case represents a disturbing betrayal of trust and a deliberate exploitation of a vulnerable adult for personal gain,” Blevins said in a statement. “My office takes this kind of abuse extremely seriously. We will continue to fight for justice on behalf of those who cannot always fight for themselves.”