Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Medicaid Fraud for Billing Care While Working Second Job 100 Miles Away
BATON ROUGE, La. – A Monroe man pleaded guilty last week to two counts of Medicaid fraud after investigators proved he claimed to be providing care to a patient in Monroe while he was actually working a second job in Shreveport – more than 100 miles away, Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office announced.
Marion Prudhomme III, who worked as a Direct Service Worker for Enrich Personal Care Services in Monroe, submitted false documentation claiming to provide services for a Medicaid recipient in Monroe when in fact he was in Shreveport working for another company, according to the Louisiana Department of Justice.
Agents obtained electronic clock-in records from Prudhomme’s work as a direct service worker, records from his second employer, and phone records that showed he was in Shreveport on numerous occasions while claiming to be providing services in Monroe. The scheme caused a loss of $13,017.40 to the Medicaid program.
Prudhomme was arrested in August 2022. On March 23, 2026, he pleaded guilty as charged in the 19th Judicial District Court to two counts of Medicaid fraud, a violation of Louisiana law.
His sentence was deferred under Article 893, and he was placed on one year of bench probation. Conditions include successfully completing an anti-theft class, paying $404.75 in court costs, paying a $200 fine, and restitution of $13,017.40 – which had already been recouped from Enrich PCS, the Medicaid provider where Prudhomme was employed.
Virginia Home Health Agency Owners Sentenced for $10 Million Medicaid Fraud Scheme
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Three owners of a Virginia home health agency were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for orchestrating a six-year conspiracy that stole more than $10 million from Medicaid by billing for nursing services that were never provided, federal prosecutors announced.
Carolyn Bryant-Taylor, 61, of Clinton, Maryland, received 120 months (10 years); Kafomdi Josephine Okocha, 50, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, received 96 months (8 years); and Samuel Okocha, 52, also of Upper Marlboro, received 72 months (6 years). Three additional defendants were sentenced to probation.
The defendants owned and operated 1st Adult N Pediatric Healthcare Service, a Medicaid-enrolled home health agency that provided private duty nursing, personal care, and respite care throughout Virginia, including in the Western District of Virginia.
According to court documents, between 2017 and 2023, Bryant-Taylor and Josephine Okocha arranged to pay parents or guardians of patients in exchange for blank, signed nursing notes. Those notes were then filled out and used to support fraudulent billing to Medicaid. The scheme resulted in claims for services that were either never provided or were provided at levels far below what was billed.
Shekita Gore, 41, of Clinton, Maryland, the agency’s director of nursing, along with Eno Utuk, 49, of Fredericksburg, Maryland, and Elizabeth Ilome, 43, also of Fredericksburg, were each sentenced to probation for their roles in the conspiracy.
The court ordered all six defendants to pay restitution totaling $10 million to Virginia Medicaid.
“This United States Attorney’s Office will hold accountable those who commit healthcare fraud and steal from hardworking Americans,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Robert N. Tracci. “I commend the FBI and the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their diligent work.”
Special Agent in Charge Ian Kaufmann of the FBI’s Richmond Division added, “These sentences make clear that fraud against federally funded programs is theft from the American people.”
Texas Couple Convicted of Running $25 Million COVID-Era Pyramid Scheme That Targeted 10,000 Victims
SHERMAN, Texas – A federal jury convicted a married couple Thursday for operating a multi-million-dollar pyramid scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic that defrauded more than 10,000 people out of over $25 million, federal prosecutors announced.
LaShonda Moore, 38, and Marlon Moore, 39, of Frisco, Texas, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and three counts of money laundering. Each faces up to 20 years in prison on the fraud counts and 10 years on each money laundering count. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
According to court documents and trial evidence, the Moores co-founded and ran “Blessings in No Time” (BINT), an illegal chain-referral pyramid scheme that operated from June 2020 to June 2021. The scheme used weekly live-stream video broadcasts to reach thousands of participants across the United States during pandemic shutdowns.
Victims were falsely promised an 800% return on each $1,400 investment and guaranteed a refund if unsatisfied. The Moores presented BINT as a way for participants to help their own community by paying “blessings” of at least $1,400 to earlier members, promising that payments would be returned eightfold within weeks.
The scheme operated on “playing boards” with four levels: eight “Fires,” four “Winds,” two “Earths,” and one “Water.” Once eight new participants filled the Fire positions, each paid at least $1,400 to the participant in the Water position, who then received more than $11,000. Participants then moved up levels and had to recruit new members to perpetuate the scheme.
The Moores placed themselves in positions on the playing boards to receive ultimate payments and diverted substantial money to themselves.
“While many Americans struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, LaShonda and Marlon Moore orchestrated a lucrative pyramid scheme with the sole aim of enriching themselves,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through lies and deceit, the defendants recruited vulnerable people and defrauded them of millions of dollars.”
U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs of the Eastern District of Texas said the defendants’ actions “were a betrayal of trust.”
Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. Altemus Jr. of IRS Criminal Investigation noted that the scheme “deliberately targeted the African American community, exploiting cultural trust and community ties.”
Nevada Business Owner Sentenced to 4½ Years for $100 Million COVID Tax Credit Fraud
LAS VEGAS – A Nevada woman was sentenced Monday to 54 months in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme that fraudulently claimed nearly $100 million in COVID-19 employment tax credits, costing the IRS more than $33 million in undeserved payouts, federal prosecutors announced.
Candies Goode-McCoy, formerly of Las Vegas, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $26,022,188 in restitution to the IRS. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims.
According to court documents, from approximately June 2022 through September 2023, Goode-McCoy conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit and paid sick and family leave credit – programs Congress created to help struggling businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Goode-McCoy filed more than 1,200 tax returns for her own businesses and those of others, falsely claiming the credits and seeking refunds totaling more than $98 million. The IRS paid out approximately $33 million as a result of the scheme.
Personally, Goode-McCoy received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds and approximately $800,000 from clients for filing fraudulent returns. She used the proceeds to pay for vacations, luxury cars, other luxury goods, and to gamble at casinos.
“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Department, working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is supercharging efforts to take down every fraudster and bring them to justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “In one day, the Department prosecuted the theft of a half-billion in taxpayer dollars. All those ripping off the American people are on notice.”