(The Center Square) – A former central Ohio couple, now living in either Kenya or Ghana, is accused of defrauding Ohio’s Medicaid program of $9.3 million by billing for services never provided.
Charges by a Franklin County grand jury this week accuse Roberta Acheampong, 39, and her husband, Godfred Owusu-Sekyere, 46, formerly of Powell, with telecommunications fraud, theft, forgery, Medicaid fraud, money laundering and identity fraud, according to Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson.
The couple owned and operated One Community Mental Health, a “behavioral-health clinic” in Franklin County, according to Wilson.
“The two allegedly exploited refugees seeking resettlement services, billing Medicaid multiple times a week for entire households, without their knowledge, for unnecessary mental health and therapeutic behavioral services that were never provided,” according to Wilson’s news release.
It provided the couple a lucrative lifestyle.
“Banking records show the stolen Medicaid funds were funneled through multiple accounts to finance a lavish lifestyle, including purchases of real estate and a Porsch,” Wilson said.
The couple is also accused of “forging documents and stealing the identities of translation and transportation staff members to submit fraudulent Medicaid claims under their names,” Wilson said.
Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides medical services to low -income residents.
About 2.7 million people in Ohio are enrolled in Medicaid, costing taxpayers about $39 billion. The bulk of the money – $27 billion – comes from federal taxpayers, while Ohio taxpayers spend about $12 billion annually.
Over the past 10 years, the state’s Medicaid budget has almost doubled, according to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.
Meanwhile, 10 other Medicaid providers were indicted this week in Franklin County, accused of stealing a combined $563,860 from Medicaid.
“It’s important to remember that these are your tax dollars being stolen,” Wilson said in a statement. “We are committed to rooting out Medicaid fraud and holding offenders accountable.”
