Adelle Starin, a 40-year-old woman from Sartell, Minnesota, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that defrauded both the TRICARE healthcare program and two lenders out of millions of dollars. Starin, who founded and operated the Minnesota-based business Baby’s on Broadway, used deceptive practices to submit false reimbursement claims to TRICARE, a program under the U.S. Department of Defense.
Initially, Starin submitted fraudulent claims for baby products and toys to TRICARE, which reimbursed many of these claims. However, when TRICARE began rejecting her fraudulent submissions, Starin expanded her operations. She created a second company, Sunshine Medical LLC, and misled two lenders, Liquid Capital Enterprises Corp. and Slope Tech Inc., into providing financing based on false claims that she needed funds to purchase inventory for Baby’s on Broadway. Sunshine Medical, however, was a non-operational entity with no revenue.
To bolster her fraudulent efforts, Starin forged invoices from Sunshine Medical, which she sent to the lenders using wire communications to obtain over $9 million in financing.
Starin pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on December 19, 2024, in U.S. District Court before Judge Jeffrey Bryan. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled in the future. This case underscores the severity of fraud, with Starin facing significant legal consequences for her actions.
