Dr. Carole Orem-Hough, Ph.D., 55, of South Portland, pled guilty in the U.S. District Court in Portland, before Judge George Z. Singal, to committing health care fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II
According to court records, from September 2008 to September 2011, Orem-Hough was a licensed psychologist doing business as Casco Bay Psychotherapy in South Portland, Delahanty reported. During that time, she provided counseling services to patients, many of whom were insured by private health insurance plans.
Orem-Hough admitted that she defrauded Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Harvard Pilgrim and OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions, by submitting claims for counseling sessions that never occurred, Delahanty reported.  In many cases, Orem-Hough billed insurance companies for two counseling sessions per week when Orem-Hough only saw the patient once per week, he said. Orem-Hough told one patient that she double-billed Aetna because the company reimbursed her about half of what she received from other companies, Delahanty reported.
Delahanty said the fraud loss in this case was over $69,000 and involved false claims with respect to almost 50 patients.  Orem-Hough faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.  She will be sentenced after completion of a pre-sentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after a patient noticed and reported billing discrepancies in an Explanation of Medical Benefit Statement from the patient's health insurance company.

Two parties were located and a variety of charges were filed as the result of an enforcement effort timed to correspond with high school proms in Maine.
Scarborough Police Department, which had four of its Special Enforcement Officers working the detail, reported the enforcement team found violations on its first outing in Cumberland County.
On Saturday night, May 18, 20 officers from departments all over Cumberland County conducted the first Cumberland County Underage Drinking Enforcement Task Force patrol, the department reported on its Facebook page.
"With funding from the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, these officers went out and monitored five area proms that started in Portland but ended up in a variety of communities," the Scarborough Police Department reported. "The goal was to look for any after-prom events where alcohol was being served to minors. With 20 officers, they were able to effectively patrol communities which had proms and respond to any calls for large parties. The detail stretched from Bridgton and Naples where Lake Region High School had their prom, to Cape Elizabeth where Cape students enjoyed their prom. Officers from the Maine State Police, Westbrook, Falmouth, South Portland, Scarborough, Cumberland, Cape Elizabeth and Brunswick worked all night to ensure the safety of local high school students and others."
In Falmouth, officers located a party at 15 Marston St. and summonsed Russell Moulton, 21, who lives at that address, for furnishing liquor to a minor, police reported. In addition, four minors were cited for possession of alcohol by a minor.
In Cape Elizabeth, officers from the detail responded to 19 Scott Dyer Road for a report of an underage drinking party and arrested resident Joseph Long, 20, for obstructing government administration, furnishing liquor to a minor and falsifying physical evidence, police said. In addition to Long's arrest, nine minors were cited for possession of alcohol by a minor, police reported.
Neither of these parties was prom-related, Scarborough Police Department said.
Additionally, officers around the county working the detail had numerous contacts with teens as they patrolled rural and urban areas, Scarborough Police Department said.
According to Capt. Tom Roth of Westbrook Police Department, who chaired the task force, this was a successful event.
"Our inaugural event was truly a success," he said. "We thwarted two parties where minors were supplied alcohol, checked in on all the area proms and patrolled much of the county."
Roth said that despite the prom night reputation for one of having alcohol involved, minors are learning from past events.
"We have all seen the tragic news stories showing fatal accidents on prom night and hopefully these events are shaping how our youth make decisions," he said.
The prom details will continue through 2014 and will include more county-wide patrols, as well as targeted patrols, police said.

Maine State Police reported Tuesday that Kyle Dube, 20, of Orono has been charged with murder in connection with the Nichole Cable case, a missing-person investigation that came to a tragic end this week.
State Police and the Penobscot County Sheriff's Office reported that a body was located Monday night and was considered likely to be the remains of 15-year-old Cable of Glenburn.
Cable had been reported missing from 25 Spruce Lane, Glenburn, since May 12 sometime after 9 p.m. Last contact was a text to a friend at 9:18 p.m. on that day, Maine State Police reported.
The remains were found about 9:30 p.m. Monday by the Maine Warden Service at an undisclosed wooded location, police said.
On his Facebook page, Dube wrote on May 13: "Please help these family (sic) get back together. Nicole wherever you are i hope you're safe." He linked to a post about the disappearance, which began: "Nichole Kristine Cable was last know (sic) to be with a male using a fictitious name of Bryan Butterfield. He was using a Facebook account with that name and it has now been taken down. The authorities have no leads."
That same day, he posted about a girl named Sarah, writing, "We have had are (sic) ups and downs but we have worked them out so stop talking to me if your trying to flirt and guys you better stop hitting on Sarah I'm f--kin crazy when I get pissed off and I'm about there."
Dube was charged with intentional and knowing murder Tuesday, Maine State Police told media outlets.