The case against Erica and Jason Jackson concerned Medicaid claims for mental health services that were not provided and nearly $1 million in overbilling, according to WRIC ABC 8News, citing a Department of Justice release. WRIC reported that the couple and employees conspired in January 2019 to submit the claims. The funds were used for luxury cars, investments in Jason’s other business ventures, and lease payments on their Richmond residence, the outlet reported.
The Jacksons established Live 4 Life, Inc., a Richmond mental health counseling agency serving Medicaid recipients, in 2012, WRIC reported. Erica managed its daily operations, including compliance with laws and regulations, while Jason submitted Medicaid claims.
Erica Jackson, 39, received a four-year prison sentence, and Jason Jackson, 40, was sentenced to six months, according to WRIC. The outlet reported their respective agency responsibilities but did not say those roles explained the difference in their sentences.
Separate Virginia fraud cases
In a separate Richmond matter, psychotherapist Daniel Jacobson pleaded guilty to criminal healthcare fraud in October 2024 and was sentenced to three months in prison in March, according to WRIC’s report. He also agreed to a civil settlement of about $449,000, bringing the total paid to resolve the criminal and civil matters to more than $1.2 million. Jacobson did not admit liability for the civil allegations, and the court did not determine whether he was guilty of those claims.
In another case, outside Richmond, a Chesterfield woman was sentenced in October 2023 to 84 months in prison for defrauding Virginia Medicaid of $211,176.96 in a home health care scheme lasting more than seven years, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Virginia Medicaid fraud enforcement
According to the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of the Attorney General’s 2025–2026 Medicaid Fraud Control Unit annual report, the unit recovered more than $21 million from providers who defrauded or attempted to defraud Medicaid. That recovery total gives a statewide measure of the financial scale of enforcement, but does not by itself show how many investigations or prosecutions took place in fiscal year 2024.
