(The Center Square) Eight Medicaid providers in Ohio face criminal charges for allegedly stealing money from the program, and a ninth is accused of taking a client’s debit card.
The total amount stolen was $181,512, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement. Medicaid is a joint state-federal health care program for low-income residents.
“Whether fraud is a trickle or a flood, our mission remains the same: Protect Medicaid dollars and hold thieves accountable,” Yost said. “Our investigative team stands guard to ensure that every provider plays by the rules.”
One provider, Molham Abdulhadi, of West Chester, was indicted for submitting fake timesheets for $7,836 for services he claimed to have provided while the client was travelling abroad in 2023 and 2024, Yost said.
Another provider, Antonia Geiter, 32, of Mentor, allegedly billed Medicaid for services when the client was in the hospital.
“Video evidence revealed that Geiter rarely visited her client, yet she continued to bill for services,” Yost said in a news release. “Records also show that she billed 16-hour workdays, despite being approved for a maximum of 10 hours per day.”
Another provider, Karen Hampston-McCants of Columbus, worked as a resident manager at a nonprofit facility for people with intellectual and development disabilities.
“She allegedly gave a resident’s debit card to an acquaintance, who then made $400 in unauthorized purchases,” Yost said. “She also is accused of lying on an incident report by claiming she misplaced the card while shopping for the resident at Walmart.”
Medicaid fraud has gained heightened national attention following reports of widespread abuse in Minnesota and other states.
More recent concerns have focused on autism treatment.
A new report by the Cato Institute found that Medicaid spending for autism therapy has increased from $347 million to more than $2.2 billion in recent years.
In Minnesota, Medicaid autism therapy has increased from less than $700,000 in 2018 to $342 million in 2024, the Cato study found.
The number of people diagnosed with autism has also increased dramatically, Cato found.
Before 2000, fewer than 1 in 150 people had autism according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2025, the number had increased to 1 in 31, Cato said.
