Agents with Attorney General Liz Murrill's Louisiana Bureau of Investigation (LBI) arrested a woman from Ponchatoula for defrauding Louisiana's Medicaid program of more than $168,000.

LBI received a criminal referral from Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) regarding allegations that 37-year-old Tanya Lynn Johnson, of Ponderosa Drive in Ponchatoula, a Medicaid recipient, had underreported her income for purposes to receive Medicaid benefits.

During this investigation, LBI agents learned that in the period between January 2022 and January 2026, Johnson provided false information to LDH by concealing her marital status and true household income. As a result, Johnson defrauded the Medicaid program of more than $168,000. 

On Thursday, January 29, 2026, LBI agents arrested Johnson pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by the 19th Judicial District Court on charges pertaining to Government Benefits Fraud and Filing False Public Records.

Johnson was booked without incident at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. 

She is charged with:

• L.R.S. 14:70.9 Government Benefits Fraud 
• L.R.S. 14:133 Filing False Public Records

Her bond information is unknown at this time.