Nine Ohio Medicaid providers now find themselves at the center of a criminal sweep, indicted this week on allegations they stole a combined $181,512 from the state's Medicaid program. The Franklin County cases accuse the providers of faking timesheets, billing for services that never happened and, in one case, using a client's debit card as if it were their own.
Attorney general details the cases
The Ohio Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit says eight of the providers are accused of siphoning $181,512 from Medicaid, while a ninth is charged with stealing a client's debit card. "Whether fraud is a trickle or a flood, our mission remains the same: Protect Medicaid dollars and hold thieves accountable," Attorney General Dave Yost said, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Who was indicted
The indictments list providers from Mentor, West Chester, Akron, Columbus, Cleveland and Reynoldsburg. Named in the filings are Antonia Geiter of Mentor, accused of billing about $63,941; Khalilah Larue, who allegedly received $59,747 in improper payments; and Alice Toole of Reynoldsburg, tied to $28,818 in overbilling and also separately indicted last month on involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment counts. Others charged include Molham Abdulhadi ($7,836), Aletta Cephus ($6,530), Hannah Browning ($10,086), Jazzmyne Battles ($2,411), Kisha Luke ($2,143) and Karen Hampston-McCants, who is accused of arranging roughly $400 in unauthorized charges on a resident's debit card, as reported by WKYC.
Legal implications and next steps
The indictments were returned in Franklin County and will now head into arraignments and pretrial scheduling in county court. Prosecutors have filed charges that include Medicaid fraud, theft and falsification. All of the indictments are criminal allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty. The attorney general's office says its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit works with federal, state and local partners to investigate and prosecute these kinds of cases, per the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
Why it matters
Prosecutors argue that cracking down on bogus billing protects both taxpayer dollars and the vulnerable Ohioans who rely on in-home care to get through the day. State officials say this latest batch of indictments is part of a steady drumbeat of enforcement by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Court calendars will show the next hearings, and anyone looking to track a specific case, from relatives to reporters, is being directed to Franklin County court records and the contacts listed on individual indictments for further details.
