A Delaware County physician admitted in Franklin County court this week to running a telehealth billing scheme that siphoned more than $1.6 million from Ohio Medicaid over five years, filing more than 27,000 claims for visits that records show never happened. Dr. Patrick Muffley, 56, of Lewis Center, pleaded guilty Monday to felony theft and Medicaid fraud charges, while his clinic associate, 61-year-old Lisa Fillhart of Lima, admitted the same day to Medicaid fraud and practicing nursing without a license.
Muffley and Fillhart submitted more than 27,000 fraudulent Medicaid claims for telehealth services that were never provided, according to mahoningmatters.com. Investigators found that many of the claims were filed on dates when Muffley had never even logged into the telehealth portal, and that he falsified appointment records to make the billing appear legitimate. The fraudulent billing ran from January 2021 through March 2026 and ultimately cost Medicaid $1,645,052, the outlet reported.
The scheme traced back to Embody Wellness Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Columbus clinic Muffley operated at 5957 Cleveland Ave. Despite its name, the practice primarily provided addiction-management services, the same report notes. As part of his plea, Muffley has agreed to pay restitution before his sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 14, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Fillhart Posed as a Nurse, Prosecutors Say
Fillhart's role centered on misrepresenting her credentials inside the clinic. She presented herself as a nurse and dispensed medical advice despite not being licensed to practice nursing, the same account states. She was sentenced the same day to 12 months of community control, with a potential 18-month prison term hanging over her if she violates its terms.
Ohio law bars employing an unlicensed person to practice nursing as a licensed practical nurse, a restriction spelled out in Ohio Revised Code Section 4723.03. Separately, state law makes it a crime to knowingly submit a false or misleading statement to obtain Medicaid reimbursement, under Ohio Revised Code Section 2913.40.
Auditor's Tip Unraveled the Scheme
The case didn't start with a whistleblower inside the clinic. A tip from the Ohio Auditor of State's Office prompted the Ohio Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to dig into the clinic's billing records, eventually exposing the years-long pattern of phantom telehealth visits. The Ohio Department of Medicaid had already suspended Muffley's provider agreement in September, cutting off his ability to bill the program even before his guilty plea.
The case lands amid a broader state crackdown on Medicaid billing fraud. Ohio Medicaid has begun suspending payments to dozens of high-risk home health providers flagged for fraud red flags, according to the agency's own announcement of its first enforcement actions. The state has also rolled out new prior authorization requirements for high-risk services, as described in a separate fraud prevention initiative, and Ohio's governor signed an executive order allowing emergency rules that require more frequent revalidation of providers deemed higher-risk for fraud, per the governor's office.
Part of a Wider Pattern of Cases
Muffley and Fillhart's case is far from an isolated incident in the state's Medicaid enforcement pipeline. Indictments filed in March 2026 accused 10 Ohio Medicaid providers of stealing a combined $578,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services inspector general. A separate roundup of Ohio cases, reported by WKYC, included allegations of providers billing while traveling out of state, while clients were hospitalized, or even after clients had died.
The dollar figures in Franklin County pale next to some national cases. In a separate prosecution, a Brooklyn social adult day care owner pleaded guilty to defrauding New York's Medicaid program of roughly $65 million through fraudulent claims for day care and home health services, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Muffley has agreed to pay restitution before his January sentencing.
