(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Indictments filed this month by the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost accuse 10 Medicaid providers of stealing a combined $578,000 from the government health-care program for the needy.
“In the spirit of St. Patrick, we’re driving out the snakes who prey on Medicaid,” Yost said. “We have zero tolerance for billing shenanigans that cheat taxpayers and exploit the vulnerable.”
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), an arm of Yost’s office, investigated the cases and secured the indictments in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. One of the defendants alone accounts for nearly $400,000 of the alleged fraud.
Investigators identified three of the cases through a new data-mining initiative launched under Yost’s direction to streamline fraud detection. The system flags irregular billing patterns, which are then manually vetted through investigations. The system is a tool to generate leads and does not replace the work of investigators. MFCU is working closely with the Ohio Department of Medicaid on the project.
Cases identified through the initiative include:
- Damona Lee, 46, of Cleveland, is accused of billing for daily in-home services during a three-month period when a client was staying at a care facility, resulting in a $5,379 loss for Medicaid. The client reported that Lee had threatened him and instructed him to lie to Medicaid.
- Shawuan Telfair, 39, of Mayfield Heights, was charged after investigators calculated a loss of $8,466 for Medicaid. Records show that she billed for in-home services when a client was hospitalized or out of state, and while she herself was traveling in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.
- Ashley Vernon, 41, of Canton, allegedly billed for in-home services on 43 dates in which a client was staying at a nursing facility. The loss to Medicaid from May through July 2024 totaled $3,839.
Among the others indicted:
- Yevgeniya Kantor, 70, of Cleveland, drew investigators’ attention after an employer alleged that she falsified timesheets. The investigation confirmed the allegation, finding that Kantor claimed to provide services to a client who was traveling out of state. The loss to Medicaid totaled $3,468.
- Jennifer Martino, 49, of Mayfield Heights, is accused of repeatedly billing Medicaid for services while traveling abroad to compete in figure-skating competitions. Records also show that she billed for overlapping services to multiple clients. The loss to Medicaid from January 2023 to February 2026 totaled $51,154.
- Torian McGee, 32, formerly of Dayton, allegedly billed for in-home services on 37 dates in which a client was hospitalized, resulting in a $2,841 loss for Medicaid from July 2023 through January 2024.
- Vernon Rawls, 57, of Cincinnati, is charged with Medicaid fraud in connection with Exclusive Services, an addiction-treatment center he owns in Blue Ash. Investigators calculated a $398,845 loss to Medicaid after a client reported that Rawls billed the program for intensive outpatient treatment that was not provided. A review of records and interviews with 12 recipients and two providers confirmed that services were either never rendered or were significantly inflated. When questioned, Rawls acknowledged the billing discrepancies but claimed he “assumed” that the treatments had taken place.
- Geneva Ray, 42, of Cleveland, was charged after investigators determined that she received $6,587 in improper Medicaid payments between 2021 and 2025. A review of travel records found that she allegedly billed for services during multiple vacations. When confronted by investigators, she admitted to the fraud, saying, “I just messed up and am fessing up.”
- Rhonda Russell, 58, of Ray in Jackson County, is accused of continuing to bill for 24-hour care for a relative after moving out of their shared residence. Investigators determined that Russell billed for more than 1,000 continuous shifts despite being absent for many of them. When confronted by investigators, she admitted to providing only 50% to 60% of the services after moving out and roughly 80% during earlier periods. The loss to Medicaid totaled $37,030.
- Shemeca Spain, 48, of Milford, allegedly continued billing Medicaid for nine months after she stopped providing services to a client. Records also show she billed for overlapping services to multiple clients, sessions she had canceled and dates that she was traveling out of state. The loss to Medicaid from November 2021 through September 2025 totaled $60,919.
“Our investigators are watchful stewards of state and federal Medicaid dollars, always on the lookout for sticky-fingered criminals,” Yost said. “Fraud is a crime at any scale, and we are committed to bringing offenders to justice.”
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 $16,553,872 for federal fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25% – totaling $5,517,956 for FY 2026 – is funded by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Dominic Binkley: 614-728-4127
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