(COLUMBUS, Ohio)— Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that a Dayton-area certified alcohol and drug outpatient treatment provider and its owner have been ordered to pay more than $1.4 million after an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found that the provider billed for services that were never actually provided.
The investigation found that between August 10, 2012 and December 31, 2015, The Morrow Group, LLC, by and through its owner Clifford Morrow, 68, of Dayton, intentionally billed and obtained money by deception from the Ohio Department of Medicaid for services not rendered and/or not authorized.
"Our investigation found that this defendant ordered his staff to bill for services that were never provided and fired employees when they questioned his illegal billing practices," said Attorney General DeWine. "We found that he and his corporation even billed for services they claimed were provided to clients who were hospitalized or dead. This kind of blatant abuse of the Medicaid system will not be overlooked."
The investigation found that Morrow ordered staff to falsify client notes and billing records to make it appear that they provided counseling and crisis intervention treatments that clients never actually received.
Investigators also found that Morrow operated The Morrow Group as a nutrition and food program rather than a drug and alcohol treatment program. The corporation provided some meals to clients, but claimed in billing records to be providing medication.
Morrow and The Morrow Group, LLC, both pleaded guilty to one felony count of Medicaid fraud and were sentenced by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Julie Lynch to pay $1,414,622 in restitution to the Ohio Department of Medicaid. Bank accounts containing these funds were frozen as part of the investigation, and upon the filing of a forfeiture order, the Ohio Department of Medicaid will immediately receive the full restitution.
Judge Lynch also ordered Morrow and the corporation to serve one year of community control. If Morrow or the company violate the terms of the community control, Morrow would face prison time.
As a result of the investigation, the Ohio Department of Medicaid terminated its provider contract with The Morrow Group, LLC, which was located on Frederick Pike in Dayton.
The case was prosecuted by attorneys with Attorney General DeWine's Health Care Fraud Section.
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Media Contacts:
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840