A move by an Indiana superintendent has left members of a community debating whether she should have to face the crimes she’s being charged with for apparently acting in good faith with a sick student.
Casey Smitherman, the superintendent of Elwood Community School Corporation in Indiana, has been charged with insurance fraud, identity deception, insurance application fraud and official misconduct after police say she took a student to urgent care and sought treatment for the child using her son’s name.
According to police, after the 15-year-old student failed to show up for school on January 9, Smitherman drove to the student’s residence to perform a wellness check. The student told Smitherman he was sick, and Smitherman decided she would take the student to get medical attention. After being denied care at one clinic because she was not his legal guardian, Smitherman took the teen to another center and told medical staff that the student was her son. After being viewed at urgent care, Smitherman had a prescription filled at a nearby CVS Pharmacy for Amoxicillin, again using her insurance and her son’s name.
Fraud Charges
After police were tipped off to the ruse, Smitherman was charged with insurance fraud and related crimes. When asked about the incident, Smitherman said that she chose not to contact child welfare services because she feared the child would be removed from the house and placed in foster care. The student does not live with his parents and is under the care of a relative.
Smitherman also noted that this isn’t the first time she’s helped the student in the past. Previously, she’s purchased new clothes for him and helped him clean his home.
Smitherman was arrested and later released after posting a $500 cash bond. A court date has not yet been set, but it seems likely that Smitherman will end up paying a fine and engaging in community service in lieu of jail time. The school district came out with a message of support after the arrest.
“We understand that it was out of concern for this child’s welfare. We know she understands what she did was wrong, but she continues to have our support,” the district said in a statement to The Herald Bulletin.
While this is a crime by the letter of the law, we understand this woman’s desire to help the impoverished. Clearly this student has had a rough go of it in other aspects of his life, and while it’s nice to see this superintendent care for him, she probably should have gone about it in a different way. However, the message of helping those less fortunate in your community is something we can all strive to do more. We love participating in the annual Our Hearts To Your Soles event where we give out free legal advice to homeless and financially burdened individuals in our community, and we’re always looking for more ways to volunteer. Hopefully Smitherman gets off with a minimal punishment and the teen gets the care he needs in the future to succeed.
