(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Nine Medicaid providers are accused of stealing a combined $530,888 from the government health-care program for the needy, according to indictments filed this month by the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
“Cheating Medicaid earns you nothing but a court date and a criminal record,” Yost said. “We’re working hard for Ohioans to recover ill-gotten gains and bring fraudsters to justice.”
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, an arm of Yost’s office, investigated the cases and secured the indictments in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
The cases include providers who billed for in-home services when clients were hospitalized, a home-health aide who sent unqualified individuals to care for clients in her place, and a provider who allegedly forged a client’s signature on timesheets.
Among those indicted:
- Monica Dean, 46, of Cleveland, was indicted on charges of Medicaid fraud and theft after investigators calculated a $45,205 loss to Medicaid. Three clients reported that she rarely showed up, provided minimal care or sent unqualified individuals to provide services in her place, yet records show she billed for full shifts.
- Mustafa Issa, 34, and his wife, Ayshia Mustapha, 28, are accused of running multiple billing schemes from their West Chester business, Hearts of Care Home Health Care Agency, causing a $344,602 loss to Medicaid between June 2023 and November 2024. At the couple’s direction, the agency allegedly inflated service hours and billed when providers were traveling, while clients were hospitalized and after providers had been removed from service plans.
- Andrea Johnson, 53, of South Charleston, allegedly continued to bill Medicaid after she stopped providing services to a client, forging the client’s signature on timesheets. The loss to Medicaid totaled $22,886.
- Mary Moore, 52, of Cincinnati, is accused of falsifying timesheets to make it appear that she had provided services to a relative when she had not, resulting in a $2,896 loss to Medicaid. When investigators asked how many hours she actually had worked for the client, she replied, “I think I should pay it all back.”
- Elizabeth Nawrot, 38, of Uhrichsville, allegedly billed Medicaid for seven days of services per week but admitted to investigators that she worked only six. The loss to Medicaid totaled $5,337.
- Tiara Portis, 32, of Akron, allegedly inflated hours on her billing records and billed Medicaid while traveling or when clients were unavailable. When confronted by investigators, Portis admitted to the fraud, saying she “needed the money” and “knew better.” The loss to Medicaid totaled $36,380.
- Alayjah Terrell, 29, of Cleveland, was indicted for Medicaid fraud and theft after an investigation calculated a $63,471 loss to Medicaid. Terrell allegedly billed Medicaid for dates she had canceled her services, while recipients were hospitalized, before being authorized on service plans, and after being removed from service plans.
- Gerri Toney, 59, of West Union, was charged after investigators determined that $10,111 was improperly paid to her for overbilling from July 2022 through October 2024.
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
-30-