PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Prosecutors in Providence unfolded a cluster of Superior Court cases alleging more than a million dollars in crooked Medicaid billings.
Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit built the files after tips from the state health and human services integrity shop. Troopers from the Rhode Island State Police helped on one track. Neronha’s office is handling the prosecutions in Providence.
Erin Burton, 61, of North Providence allegedly pushed about $225,000 in claims for care that never happened for 39 enrollees, among them patients listed as deceased, unconscious or incarcerated. Jessica Dos Santos, 26, of East Providence allegedly logged about $99,000 in fake claims for 15 people, eight of them relatives. Chijioke Nnanna Egbujo, 53, of Farmington, Connecticut, a contracted psychiatrist, allegedly collected roughly $220,000 by billing Eleanor Slater Hospital shifts he did not work while also on duty elsewhere.
Transportation co-owners Moshood Lawal, 48, and Amudat Lawal, 39, of Moshlaw Transportation allegedly collected about $270,000 tied to 16,000 rides while vehicles lacked required insurance and current plates. Assured Transportation co-owners Mustapha Opere Toyin, age 44, and Ganait Idris, age 46, allegedly billed about $453,000 for trips that could not have occurred as written, including while owners were abroad or when Idris was hospitalized.
Arraignment and conference dates run from mid-October into November. Neronha cast the sweep as a warning that siphoning care dollars meant for frail residents will draw felony paper. The cases land as state leaders keep pressing on waste inside the Medicaid pipeline that serves hospitals, clinics and medical rides across Rhode Island.
Section: More Providence RI crime news