Nine Indicted in Federal Home Health Fraud Probe
LYNCHBURG, Virgina—A November 2023 indictment, returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Roanoke, Virginia charging nine people with health care fraud conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction of justice, has been unsealed following the arrest and initial court appearances of all nine defendants.
According to court documents, Carolyn Bryant-Taylor, 59, of Clinton, Maryland; Kafomdi “Josephine” Okocha, 48, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Samuel Okocha, 50, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Shekita Gore, aka Shekita Steele, 38, of Clinton, Maryland; Berthe Feuzeu, aka Berthe Djuni, 48, of Manassas Park, Virginia; Anthony Kanu, 57, of Bladensburg, Maryland; Elizabeth Ilome, 41, of Stafford, Virginia; Eno Utuk, 47, of Stafford, Virginia; and Rhabiatu Kamara, 45, of Fort Washington, Maryland, are all charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Bryant-Taylor, Josephine Okocha, Samuel Okocha and Gore also are charged with one count of health care fraud. Additionally, Bryant-Taylor is charged with two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of money laundering. Josephine Okocha is charged with three counts of money laundering.
According to the indictment, Bryant-Taylor, Josephine Okocha, Samuel Okocha and Gore are owners and operators of 1st Adult N Pediatric Healthcare Service, a Medicaid-enrolled home health agency providing private duty nursing, personal care and respite care services throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, including in the Western District of Virginia. Feuzeu, Kanu, Utuk and Kamara were employed by 1st Adult as nurses and Ilome as a medication technician. The defendants are alleged to have conspired to submit false claims to Medicaid for services that were not provided to patients, including falsifying records and documentation in support of the fraudulent claims submitted for reimbursement.
First Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, and Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement following the indictment’s unsealing.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Virginia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are investigating the case, with assistance from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin B. Johnson and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Terry, a Senior Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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