COLUMBUS, OH- While much of the attention over fraud involving government agencies has focused on Minnesota and California, the red state of Ohio is right up there in the fraud department.
WBNS-10 reports that Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost reported last week that five Medicaid providers stole a combined $542,176 from Medicaid, while three others exploited nursing home residents.
“Caregivers are meant to protect the vulnerable, not exploit them,” Yost said in a news release. “My office will never tolerate thieves who line their pockets at the expense of elderly, disabled, and low-income Ohioans.”
Earlier this month, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the creation of several new fraud prevention initiatives which are designed to “strengthen and build up long-standing efforts to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the Ohio Medicaid system,” DeWine’s office announced in a news release.
“Ohio has long been a national leader in fighting Medicaid fraud. Ohio has one of the best Medicaid Fraud Control units in the country, and, in 2018, Ohio became the first state to implement Electronic Visit Verification in home health care,” said DeWine. “Today we are ready to begin several new initiatives long in development that will enhance this nation-leading work and further protect taxpayer funds from those trying to defraud the State. I thank the Trump Administration for their partnership and collaboration that is allowing us to proceed with these reforms much faster than previously possible.”
Among those initiatives DeWine is employing include:
Statewide New Provider Moratorium- requesting a six-month moratorium on new home-healthcare and hospice businesses being able to become Medicaid providers, designed to assess existing providers to help remove those at high risk for having committed fraud.
Immediate Payment Suspension to High-Risk Providers- Ohio Medicaid will immediately remove and suspend payment to providers whose billing practices show “red flags” that indicate a high probability of fraud.
Executive Order for Emergency Rules- DeWine’s office will issue an Executive Order that will allow the Ohio Department of Medicaid to implement emergency rules to require more frequent revalidation of providers being identified as higher-risk for committing fraud.
Mandatory GPS Requirement for Electronic Visit Verification- Ohio Medicaid will file rules to require GPS for all providers using Electronic Visit Verification (EVV). Since March 2025, Ohio Medicaid has been phasing in EVV as a mandatory requirement for home healthcare provider payment.
Mandatory EVV for Live-In Caregivers- Ohio Medicaid will begin the rulemaking process to require live-in caregivers to use EVV during home healthcare and as a requirement for payment. Currently family and live-in caregivers are exempt from this requirement.
In the fraud arrest busts, Yost’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit secured indictments against the following:
Darnicia Burge, 27, of Cleveland- accused of forging timesheets and double-billing for overlapping shifts at two jobs hundreds of times, resulting in a $1,969 loss for Medicaid.
Kimberly Henry, 56, of Columbus- accused of billing for in-home services while her client was hospitalized for four months; loss to Medicaid totaled $16,102.
Ebony Jones, 23, of Akron- accused of billing for in-home services while she traveled to Jamaica nine different times between 2022 to 2025; also accused of billing daily services to two clients who had not seen her in three years; total loss to Medicaid of $412,219.
Robert Lomas, 52, of Defiance- charged with Medicaid fraud in connection with his job as a licensed independent chemical dependency counselor; allegedly billed routinely for counseling that did not take place; total loss to Medicaid of $106,620.
Astashiona McDonald, 26, and Diamond Tate, 27, both of Columbus- indicted for forgery and theft from a person in a protected class for allegedly stealing a total of $3,500 from a long-term care facility resident; incident began when the victim reported nine missing checks; Tate worked at the facility, Yost was a romantic partner. Checks were written to and cashed by McDonald, who was unknown to the victim.
Brian Otler, 42, of Columbus- Between December 20204 to March 2025, allegedly stole $36,335 from an elderly relative suffering from dementia. He is accused of accessing the victim’s bank account without authorization while the victim was staying in a long-term care facility; he faces charges of theft from a person in a protected class, and misuse of credit cards.
Tina Turner, 54, of Ironton- allegedly bullied for services while she was traveling on Caribbean cruises in 2024 and 2025, which led to a $5,266 loss for Medicaid.
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