On February 13, 2026, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office announced that nine Medicaid providers and one client had been indicted for allegedly defrauding the government healthcare program of $478,000. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, an arm of Yost’s office, investigated the cases and secured the indictments in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
Those indicted include:
- A Cleveland woman, 26, who investigators determined had $108,983 improperly paid to her for overbilling from 2023 to 2025. She confessed that she inflated her billed hours for services she never provided.
- An East Cleveland woman, 53, who was charged after investigators calculated a loss of $11,025 to Medicaid. The investigation identified numerous dates in which she called off work but billed for services. Additionally, video evidence showed that she never visited one of her clients during a 20-day span of billed services. When confronted with the video, she responded, “Guilty as charged.”
- A Kenton woman, 45, accused of billing for services she did not provide, leading to a $6,660 loss for Medicaid between September 2023 and February 2025.
- A 40-year-old Hamilton man who drew investigators’ attention after an anonymous tipster alleged fraudulent billing. An investigation confirmed that he had billed Medicaid for services not rendered, including a 20-day period in which he visited a client only once. He admitted to the fraud when confronted by investigators. In total, $120,268 was fraudulently billed to Medicaid.
- A 38-year-old Cleveland woman who allegedly billed for weekends, holidays, and other dates she did not work from January 2023 through July 2025. Travel records show she also billed when traveling in Florida, Georgia, Nevada, and Puerto Rico. The loss to Medicaid totaled $4,390.
- A South Point woman, 46, who allegedly continued to bill Medicaid after she stopped providing services to a client, resulting in a $3,891 loss to Medicaid. She confessed to investigators that she submitted false documentation to support the fraudulent claims.
- A 35-year-old Strongsville woman was indicted for Medicaid fraud and theft after investigators calculated a $6,587 loss to Medicaid. She routinely billed for six to eight hours of services, but a client reported that she never worked more than four hours per day. Another client told investigators that the defendant worked only 125 of the 200 hours she billed. She admitted to billing for services not rendered, claiming that she thought she could make up the hours later.
- A Streetsboro woman, 38, and a Cleveland man, 40, who allegedly engaged in a kickback scheme that resulted in a $212,339 loss to Medicaid. Records show that the woman billed Medicaid for more than 1,000 hours of services between August 2022 and November 2025 when she was working another job. An investigation determined that she paid her client more than $45,000 via Cash App during the same period. When confronted by investigators, the pair admitted to the scheme.
- A Warren woman, 60, allegedly billed for services between May 2024 through June 2025 when traveling in Arizona, Florida, Texas, and the Bahamas. The loss to Medicaid totaled $4,072.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit operates within the Health Care Fraud Section and collaborates with federal, state, and local partners to root out Medicaid fraud and protect vulnerable adults from harm. It investigates and prosecutes healthcare providers who defraud the state Medicaid program and enforces the state’s Patient Abuse and Neglect Law.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Healthcare providers must ensure that all services billed to Medicaid are accurate, supported by contemporaneous documentation, and reflect services actually rendered. Billing for services not provided, inflating hours, or submitting claims during periods when services could not have been delivered exposes providers to criminal, civil, and administrative liability.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures governing documentation, timekeeping, billing, and supervisory oversight. Policies should clearly define expectations for service verification, contemporaneous charting, and reconciliation of billed hours with documented care. Facilities may benefit from periodic review of these policies by a qualified compliance consultant to identify operational vulnerabilities, strengthen internal controls, and ensure alignment with current federal and state requirements.
- Provide comprehensive and ongoing education to all staff involved in service delivery, documentation, and billing. Med-Net Academy offers the course Origin of Fraud, which discusses the role of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Department of Justice (DOJ); Medicaid Fraud Control Units and Medicare and DOJ fraud strike forces; federal monitoring of nursing homes; CMS enforcement remedies; deficiency severity and scope levels; the origin of fraud; the required components of an effective compliance and ethics program; federal compliance-related laws; and appropriate steps to take if contacted by government agents or investigators. Education should reinforce that submitting inaccurate claims—regardless of intent—can result in significant legal and financial consequences.
- Conduct routine audits of timesheets, travel records, electronic visit verification data (if applicable), and supporting documentation to confirm that billed services match services provided. Audit findings should be analyzed for patterns or systemic weaknesses and followed by prompt corrective action. Some organizations choose to engage an external reviewer to perform mock audits or focused compliance assessments to provide an independent evaluation of billing practices and recommend risk-mitigation strategies before issues escalate.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, Inc. for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*