By . Daniel Miller . PUBLISHED: . 07:47 EST, 2 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:00 EST, 2 October 2012 . Multiple personalities: Diana Williamson claims she is not responsible for defrauding Medicaid for $300,000 . A once-respected doctor has blamed a 'mischievous' alternate personality for defrauding Medicaid of $300,000 by writing prescriptions for painkiller pills which were later sold on the street. Diana Williamson, 56, who founded an Aids institute and ran educational programmes in prisons, pleaded guilty to the crimes but said they were carried out by one of her many personalities. Urging the court  to show  leniency, her defense lawyer Jonathan Marks said Williamson's crimes were really committed by a personality called Nala, who is 'mischievous, irresponsible, reckless and, as we have just discovered, criminal.' Williamson decline to speak in court but in a letter to the judge, she too blamed . Nala, saying she 'committed these crimes without telling Diana or the . other parts of me about them. 'Perhaps . it sounds incredible that a part of me could be doing something that . the rest of me would not know about. 'But everything . about dissociative disorder is difficult to fathom for those who do not . have it.' Williamson was due to be sentenced on Monday, but U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska delayed a final determination until prison authorities say whether they can treat a variety of illnesses her lawyer says would certainly lead to her death behind bars. Scam: Williamson wrote prescriptions for tablets such as Oxycontin, . known in America as 'hillbilly heroin', which were later sold on the . street for up to $20 each . The government has recommended she go to prison for 11 years or more, but Mr Marks says any prison time would be a death sentence because Williamson has several severe medical issues that can't be treated in prison and require occasional emergency trips to a hospital. The judge seemed skeptical of the multiple personality argument. 'I guess I'm having trouble understanding that with the defendant's remarkable medical career, having founded an AIDS hospital ... it doesn't seem to have impaired her ability to function as a medical professional,' the judge said. She delayed sentencing after a prosecutor acknowledged Williamson's severe medical issues and said a Bureau of Prisons official would have to say whether the prisons could handle her issues. Twist of fate: The once-respected Williamson ran an Aids awareness educational . programme at Rikers Island jail but could soon be headed there herself . The government says Williamson defrauded Medicaid out of about $300,000, part of roughly $1 million that a wider conspiracy managed to scam from the program. Prosecutors say Williamson wrote phony prescriptions for about 11,000 painkiller pills that were bought with Medicaid benefits and then peddled on the street. Authorities said the ring mostly dealt in oxycodone, a highly addictive pain medication often sold on the black market for $20 to $40 per pill as a substitute for heroin and other illegal drugs. Two decades ago, Williamson, of Harlem, made a business magazine's list of young professionals on the rise.
Diana Williamson, 56, wrote prescriptions for painkillers which were later sold on the street .
But she told judge her mischievous alternate personality 'Nala' was to blame .
By . Daniel Miller . PUBLISHED: . 07:47 EST, 2 October 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 08:00 EST, 2 October 2012 . Multiple personalities: Diana Williamson claims she is not responsible for defrauding Medicaid for $300,000 . A once-respected doctor has blamed a 'mischievous' alternate personality for defrauding Medicaid of $300,000 by writing prescriptions for painkiller pills which were later sold on the street. Diana Williamson, 56, who founded an Aids institute and ran educational programmes in prisons, pleaded guilty to the crimes but said they were carried out by one of her many personalities. Urging the court  to show  leniency, her defense lawyer Jonathan Marks said Williamson's crimes were really committed by a personality called Nala, who is 'mischievous, irresponsible, reckless and, as we have just discovered, criminal.' Williamson decline to speak in court but in a letter to the judge, she too blamed . Nala, saying she 'committed these crimes without telling Diana or the . other parts of me about them. 'Perhaps . it sounds incredible that a part of me could be doing something that . the rest of me would not know about. 'But everything . about dissociative disorder is difficult to fathom for those who do not . have it.' Williamson was due to be sentenced on Monday, but U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska delayed a final determination until prison authorities say whether they can treat a variety of illnesses her lawyer says would certainly lead to her death behind bars. Scam: Williamson wrote prescriptions for tablets such as Oxycontin, . known in America as 'hillbilly heroin', which were later sold on the . street for up to $20 each . The government has recommended she go to prison for 11 years or more, but Mr Marks says any prison time would be a death sentence because Williamson has several severe medical issues that can't be treated in prison and require occasional emergency trips to a hospital. The judge seemed skeptical of the multiple personality argument. 'I guess I'm having trouble understanding that with the defendant's remarkable medical career, having founded an AIDS hospital ... it doesn't seem to have impaired her ability to function as a medical professional,' the judge said. She delayed sentencing after a prosecutor acknowledged Williamson's severe medical issues and said a Bureau of Prisons official would have to say whether the prisons could handle her issues. Twist of fate: The once-respected Williamson ran an Aids awareness educational . programme at Rikers Island jail but could soon be headed there herself . The government says Williamson defrauded Medicaid out of about $300,000, part of roughly $1 million that a wider conspiracy managed to scam from the program. Prosecutors say Williamson wrote phony prescriptions for about 11,000 painkiller pills that were bought with Medicaid benefits and then peddled on the street. Authorities said the ring mostly dealt in oxycodone, a highly addictive pain medication often sold on the black market for $20 to $40 per pill as a substitute for heroin and other illegal drugs. Two decades ago, Williamson, of Harlem, made a business magazine's list of young professionals on the rise.
alternate personality for defrauding Medicaid of pills which were later sold on the street. Diana Scam: Williamson wrote prescriptions for tablets