Winnsboro Mayor Alice Wallace Arrested Following Louisiana Department of Health Referral

Winnsboro Mayor Alice Wallace was arrested and charged with six counts of government benefits fraud by Attorney General Liz Murrill’s Louisiana Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, after an investigation revealed she fraudulently received approximately $75,000 in Medicaid benefits from 2021 through 2026.

The investigation began after a referral from the Louisiana Department of Health, which alerted authorities to allegations that Wallace failed to report changes in her household income, did not disclose her marital status, and intentionally misrepresented the availability of health insurance through her employers.

Authorities found that Wallace received a salary and was offered health coverage through her employment from 2021 through 2022, and from 2022 through 2026 served as the elected Mayor of Winnsboro, yet failed to report this employment, income, or access to medical health coverage to the Louisiana Department of Health as required for continued Medicaid eligibility.

Wallace and her dependent continuously utilized Medicaid program benefits during this period despite her income and employment status making her ineligible for the state and LDH programs, resulting in a combined loss of claims totaling approximately $75,000, according to the LDH Medicaid Fraud Division.

Wallace was taken into custody and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison following her surrender to Louisiana Bureau of Investigation agents. No bond has been set in the case.

Attorney General Liz Murrill stated that Wallace was arrested for knowingly concealing and failing to disclose material facts affecting her and her dependents’ continued eligibility to receive benefits from the Louisiana Department of Health Medicaid program, emphasizing that the six counts pertain to the years 2021 through 2026.

Murrill said in a statement, “It doesn’t matter who you are — if you defraud the hardworking taxpayers of Louisiana, you’re going to jail,” and confirmed that her bureau’s special agents conducted the investigation after the Louisiana Department of Health referred the allegations to her agency.

Wallace, who is 50 years old and resides on Robinson Drive in the Town of Winnsboro in Franklin Parish, is accused of illegally securing Medicaid benefits for herself and a dependent through the fraudulent scheme.

Winnsboro, with a population of about 5,000, serves as the Franklin Parish seat.