(CLEVELAND) – Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that the owner of a Cleveland ambulette company must pay back more than $70,000 she fraudulently took from Ohio's Medicaid program.
Carolyn Quinnie, owner of 3 Ease Home Health Care, was found guilty of felony theft in April. Today a judge also sentenced her to a suspended sentence of 15 months in jail, with five years of community control. An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Attorney General's Office found that the 57-year-old was billing Medicaid for wheelchair transports for individuals who did not need them.
"We are going to make sure Ohioans get back every penny this defendant has been ordered to pay in restitution," said Attorney General DeWine. "This case shows how serious we are about stopping those who think they can defraud Ohio's Medicaid program."
The investigation against Quinnie, which was prompted by the investigation of another ambulette company, also discovered that she billed Medicaid for an additional attendant during transports when there was no additional employee in that role present.
This fraud occurred over a period from October 2007 to July 2010.
If Quinnie violates her community control, a judge could reinstate her 15 month suspended sentence.
The Attorney General's Health Care Fraud Section investigates and prosecutes health care providers who defraud the state's Medicaid program. The Section also investigates alleged misappropriations of patient funds and enforces Ohio laws protecting mentally or physically disabled or elderly citizens from financial exploitation, neglect and abuse in long-term care facilities.
Anyone who suspects Medicaid fraud or patient abuse or neglect can contact Attorney General DeWine's office at 1-800-282-0515 or www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
Media Contacts:
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Jill Del Greco: 614-466-3840