Todd Blanche Announces Health Care Fraud Indictments in $30 Million Ohio Case
Federal law enforcement officials announced health care fraud indictments Thursday in an alleged $30 million Medicaid billing scheme tied to children’s behavioral health services in Ohio. Two Ohio state employees and two co-conspirators were charged after officials said the services were never provided.
All four defendants turned themselves in to authorities this week. Officials also said investigators seized 14 vehicles, including a Maserati, a Mercedes, a Bentley and a McLaren, as part of the case.
Todd Blanche on Thursday
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said the Medicaid fraud case was one of several cases unsealed over the last week targeting about $50 million in fraud. Thursday’s announcement came from the Justice Department, state officials and other members of President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which is led by Vice President JD Vance.
According to officials, the defendants offered therapeutic behavioral services and psychotherapy to young adults and children attending summer camps, church groups and recreational programs. The alleged ringleaders diagnosed every single recipient with a behavioral adjustment disorder, while no assessment testing was ever done and the behavioral services never occurred.
Medicaid billing in Ohio
Officials said participants were required to complete intake packets and provide their Medicaid recipient number. A medical assessment was also required, but the defendants did not conduct a single test, and the kids never got any care.
The seizure of 14 vehicles adds a separate financial measure to the criminal case, including luxury models that investigators tied to the alleged scheme. A spokesperson for Vance called the allegations disgusting and said, “It is disgusting that fraudsters were allowed to deprive essential developmental services from American children in need.”
JD Vance task force cases
The same spokesperson also said, “Countless lives could have been made better by the millions of tax dollars stolen, but instead they were used to purchase luxury cars.” CBS News reported that the Medicaid case was one of several cases unsealed over the last week targeting about $50 million in fraud, including one involving a $1.4 million COVID-19 loan fraud scheme.
For families and providers in Ohio, the immediate change is the criminal case itself: federal prosecutors have tied the alleged billing to services for children and young adults that officials say never happened, and investigators have already moved on the defendants’ property. The case now sits within a broader wave of unsealed fraud charges that federal officials say spans multiple schemes, not just one Medicaid filing.
