A Lubbock woman has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for a scheme involving the fraudulent acquisition and cashing of Texas Medicaid checks intended for her quadriplegic son’s care, according to an announcement from United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
Judy Terecia Sanchez, 60, received a sentence of 204 months’ imprisonment on February 19, 2026. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge James Wesley Hendrix after Sanchez pleaded guilty last July to one count of bank fraud. In addition to her prison term, Sanchez was ordered to pay $227,377 in restitution to Texas Health and Human Services.
“The defendant inflicted unimaginable suffering on her son by fraudulently pretending he received the care he needed and deserved,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “Justice in the form of this lengthy prison sentence is deserved for the defendant’s callous exploitation of her son’s tragic condition for her own gain.”
Raymond Winter, Inspector General at Texas Health and Human Services (HHS), commented on the case: “This sentencing was the culmination of a tremendous team effort, and I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and the Texas Office of Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their hard work and dedication in seeing that justice was served. This case was about something much more troubling than fraud; it was about a severely disabled young man who was deprived of services paid for by taxpayers. Ms. Sanchez received more than $200,000 under false pretenses—monies intended to provide professional help for her own quadriplegic son to perform basic functions that most of us take for granted. Instead, her son went without for more than six years while she stole taxpayer dollars and lied about it. I hope today’s sentencing serves as a potent reminder that Texans will not tolerate this behavior and that the pursuit of justice will be relentless.”
Court documents show that Sanchez’s son suffered from severe disabilities following an injury that left him bed-ridden, blind, non-verbal, non-mobile, and dependent on a tracheostomy tube for breathing. He qualified for home health care through Texas Medicaid due to his extensive needs.
In 2015, Sanchez selected a certified nurse aide to assist with daily care tasks such as bathing and hygiene activities. However, after two weeks on the job, the nurse aide resigned and no replacement was hired by Sanchez. Instead, over six years following the resignation, Sanchez continued submitting falsified time sheets as if services were still being provided by the former aide. She directed Medicaid payments—checks made out to the nurse aide—to a post office box she controlled before forging endorsements and cashing them herself.
The fraudulent activity came to light when authorities discovered Sanchez’s son in severe neglect toward the end of his life after being left unattended by his mother. Emergency responders described his condition as among the worst they had seen during their careers; court records noted untreated bed sores with pus and maggot infestations.
The investigation into this case involved multiple agencies including The Office of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FBI Dallas Field Office—Lubbock Resident Agency—and Texas Health and Human Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Howey prosecuted.
