South Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Identity Theft and Obtaining Drugs by Fraud

WILMINGTON, Del. - Benjamin L. Wallace, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that a South Dakota man has pleaded guilty to ordering thousands of opioid pills by stealing the identity of medical professionals with whom he worked. U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall accepted the plea.

According to court documents, Ty Mauldin, 35, used his access as a medical biller and credentialer-which allowed him to obtain medical professionals' licensure information-to order himself thousands of opioid pills through wholesale pharmaceutical suppliers, all unbeknownst to the medical professionals who were the victims of his scheme.

Mauldin also exploited this access to electronic medical records by falsifying his own health information so that he could pose as a cancer patient and thereby obtain pain management services, including the installation of an intrathecal pain pump and the prescription of opioids, all of which were paid for by his private health insurer.

Additionally, Mauldin represented himself as a certified health professional to his colleagues and patients, including holding himself out as a licensed nurse. Based on these false representations, Mauldin convinced a Nurse Practitioner to allow him to perform Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy on patients and then submitted false claims to Medicaid for reimbursement for performing said therapy.

Mauldin pleaded guilty to Aggravated Identify Theft and Obtaining Drugs (Oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance) by Fraud. He faces a mandatory minimum of 2 years in prison on the Aggravated Identity Theft charge, which would run consecutively to any term of imprisonment imposed on the Obtaining Drugs by Fraud charge.The maximum penalty for the Obtaining Drugs by Fraud Charge is 4 years of imprisonment. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for November 3, 2026.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace, FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings made the announcement. This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Delaware Department of Justice's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney M. David Tambussi Jr. is prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division"). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the District of Delaware or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 25-cr-147.

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