13 Medicaid Providers Facing Fraud Charges

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — In indictments filed this month by the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, 13 Medicaid providers are accused of defrauding the government health-care program for the needy.
 
Twelve home-health aides and one behavioral-health specialist allegedly billed Medicaid for a combined $189,332 in services they did not provide, resulting in felony charges of Medicaid fraud and theft. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, an arm of Yost’s office, investigated the cases and secured the indictments in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
 
“Billing for made-up services checks every box for fraud, waste and abuse,” Yost said. “Medicaid fraud steals from the vulnerable and from the taxpayers who fund the program – and we don’t tolerate that in Ohio.”
 
Yost announced the indictments as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The strategically coordinated law enforcement action led to criminal charges against 324 defendants nationwide for their alleged participation in health-care fraud and illegal drug-diversion schemes that allegedly involved the submission of $14.6 billion in false billings and 15.6 million pills of illegally diverted controlled substances.
 
The defendants named in the national takedown are accused of defrauding programs entrusted with the care of the elderly and disabled to line their own pockets. In connection with the takedown, authorities seized $245 million in cash, luxury vehicles and other assets.
 
Among those indicted on state charges in Ohio:

• Donna Deaver, 63, of Cleveland, is charged with Medicaid fraud, a fourth-degree felony. She allegedly billed for services while the service recipient was in Jamaica for six months, prompting a $64,316 loss for Medicaid. Evidence shows that Deaver submitted the claims using the names of two family members, who were also Medicaid providers, telling them that the extra income came from a pandemic incentive program.
   
• Erica Gore, 35, of Columbus, is charged with Medicaid fraud and theft, both fifth-degree felonies. Gore allegedly billed for services that she had canceled at the last minute. Family members of service recipients supplied text messages showing that Gore canceled services on 37 days for which she had claimed reimbursement. The loss to Medicaid totaled $2,033.
   
• Natosha Hall, 32, of Cleveland, is charged with a fifth-degree-felony count of Medicaid fraud. Records show that Hall sought reimbursement for services allegedly performed while she was on a trip in Barbados, leading to a $1,037 loss for Medicaid.
   
• Rachelle Monday, 29, of Cleveland, is charged with Medicaid fraud and theft, both fourth-degree felonies. While employed by Warm Living Health Care, she allegedly falsified time sheets by claiming that she provided services when she was really working another job as a parking lot attendant. The loss to Medicaid totaled $16,041.
   
• Gerald Patterson, 57, of Akron, is charged with Medicaid fraud and theft, both fifth-degree felonies. Evidence shows that Patterson, while employed by Enterprise Health Services, falsified time sheets and billed for services when he was working a second job or traveling out of state, causing a $6,184 loss for Medicaid.
   
• Tara Patterson, 46, of Akron, is charged with Medicaid fraud and theft, both fourth-degree felonies. Patterson’s billing records showed multiple instances in which she claimed reimbursement for services while out of state. Patterson confessed to investigators that she billed for services she did not provide and engaged in a kickback scheme with a service recipient. The loss to Medicaid totaled $15,210.
   
• Thong Phaphouvaninh, 64, of Orrville, and Bounmy Thammavongsa, 60, of Perrysburg, are both charged with Medicaid fraud, a fourth-degree felony. While employed by Pinnacle Home Health, the pair allegedly billed for services when they were hours away from the service recipients. When confronted by investigators, they confessed to the fraudulent billings. The combined loss to Medicaid totaled $33,416.
   
• Patric Snowden, 49, of Maple Heights, is charged with a fifth-degree-felony count of Medicaid fraud. Snowden allegedly billed for services during trips to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, the Dominican Republic, France and Jamaica. She confessed to investigators that she billed for services that she did not provide. The loss to Medicaid totaled $2,318.
   
• John Thomas, 53, of Cincinnati, is charged with Medicaid fraud and theft, both fourth-degree felonies. While employed by Future Home Health Care, Thomas allegedly submitted time sheets claiming that he provided in-home services while the recipient was hospitalized for three months, causing a $13,756 loss for Medicaid.
   
• Janay Veal, 37, of Youngstown, is charged with Medicaid fraud and theft, both fifth-degree felonies. Veal allegedly continued to bill for services after removing herself from a recipient’s plan of care. She also allegedly billed for days in which a relative of the recipient provided the services. The loss to Medicaid totaled $4,923.
   
• Donna Wells, 35, of Cincinnati, is charged with Medicaid fraud and theft, both fifth-degree felonies. Wells allegedly billed for services when recipients were hospitalized and while she was traveling in Georgia and Nevada. The loss to Medicaid totaled $3,183.
   
• Miranda Williams, 30, of Mentor, is charged with Medicaid fraud, a fourth-degree felony. As a behavioral-health specialist for Guiding Point, Williams provided counseling services to school students. Following a report that Williams never met with one of her service recipients, an investigation found that she allegedly billed for numerous services when she was not present at her assigned school. Evidence also shows that some of Williams’ claims overlapped with other claims she submitted at a separate counseling job. The loss to Medicaid totaled $26,915.

Ohio’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which operates within the Health Care Fraud Section, collaborates with federal, state and local partners to root out Medicaid fraud and protect vulnerable adults from harm. The unit investigates and prosecutes health-care providers who defraud the state Medicaid program and enforces the state’s Patient Abuse and Neglect Law.
 
Indictments are criminal allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.
 
The Ohio Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $15,343,488 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25% – totaling $5,114,493 for FY 2025 – is funded by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Dominic Binkley: 614-728-4127

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