A Great Falls man who admitted to lying about his income to receive more than $75,000 in Medicaid health care benefits was fined $70,000 and sentenced to three years of probation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Dustin Tempel, 39, pleaded guilty in June to health care fraud.

He was sentenced in federal court on Nov. 13.

Great Falls man admits to health care fraud in federal court

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The court also ordered $75,493 restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The prosecution argued that during an investigation of Temple’s mother, Lynn Temple, for fraudulently inflating construction costs while building a home for a client in Great Falls, investigators learned that Tempel had underreported his income by more than $300,000 during a five-year period, according to court documents.

Great Falls woman sentenced to 14 months for wire fraud [2022]

During the period of underreporting, Temple applied for Medicaid, again underrepresenting his actual income, and as a result, received $75,493 from Medicaid that he was not entitled to receive from 2017 to 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Medicaid is a federal health care benefit program that provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women and elderly adults with disabilities, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Great Falls woman to plead guilty to wire fraud for $565,000 [2021]

Lynn Temple, who was the finance manager for William Tempel Construction, was sentenced in April 2022 to 14 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $415,221 restitution for conviction on wire fraud.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan G. Weldon prosecuted the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.