BENTON, IL — A Carterville man was recently sentenced to four years of probation for drug diversion and health care fraud charges. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois, 42-year-old Joseph M. Mattingly was also ordered to pay a $500 fine along with a $200 special assessment.

According to court documents, Mattingly diverted Schedule II controlled substance (Hydrocodone) pills from a patient and defrauded the Medicare program of the cost of the pills. In 2018, Mattingly was employed as a nurse with Progress Port, a center for adults with intellectual disabilities, in Williamson County. Between August 20, 2018 and October 30, 2018, Mattingly obtained possession of 25 Hydrocodone pills he falsely claimed he dispended to a Progress Port resident, which he diverted for his own personal use. Mattingly took three Hydrocodone pills intended for the same Progress Port resident and replaced those pills with Tylenol, an over-the-counter medication at three separate locations.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Office of Investigations and the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau.