A Virginia Beach mother is facing fraud charges after Virginia State Police say she submitted falsified medical documentation while seeking compensation for her young daughter's alleged injury from metal found in a bag of potato chips.
Ashley Turner, 36, is accused of attempting to obtain between $20,000 and $50,000 in insurance proceeds, according to a search warrant.
According to court records, Turner submitted documentation from Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters on June 13 for two doctors' visits.
It states the hospital revealed the child was never seen on one of those dates, and the documentation was allegedly fraudulent.
Turner's attorney, Brian Latuga released a statement addressing the charges.
"Ms. Turner unfortunately had a serious lapse in judgement when handling what was originally a truthful reporting about metal shards located by her daughter in a potato chip bag. This did cause slight injury. As a concerned mother, she made a report through the appropriate channels. But when asked to provide documentation for one of two reported medical care visits, she could not provide that. The first reported visit was puffery and did not reflect an accurate timeline of events. She takes full responsibility for the false documentation she submitted and is facing the consequences of her actions. This does not take away from the proper accountability that Ms. Turner sought originally for the metal shards appearing in a food bag, which the food distributor appears to have addressed."
State police arrested Turner in October and charged her with attempting to obtain money by false pretenses and forgery.
CHKD said due to patient confidentiality, they are unable to share any information.
Turner is expected back in court on March 11.
