Nine Ohio Medicaid Providers Indicted in $530K Fraud Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Nov. 18, 2025

Nine Ohio Medicaid providers are accused of stealing more than $530,000 from the taxpayer-funded health care program, according to indictments filed this month in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the cases reflect ongoing efforts to crack down on fraud in services meant for low-income and vulnerable residents.

“Cheating Medicaid earns you nothing but a court date and a criminal record,” Yost said. “We’re working hard for Ohioans to recover ill-gotten gains and bring fraudsters to justice.”

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led the investigations, focusing on providers who allegedly billed for services they did not perform, inflated work hours, or submitted claims when clients were hospitalized or otherwise ineligible for care.

Alleged Schemes Across Ohio

Prosecutors say the nine providers collectively caused a $530,888 loss to Medicaid through a variety of schemes. Among the cases:

• Monica Dean, 46, of Cleveland
  Indicted on charges of Medicaid fraud and theft after investigators calculated a $45,205 loss. Three clients reported that Dean rarely showed up, provided minimal care, or sent unqualified individuals in her place, yet records allegedly showed billing for full shifts.

• Mustafa Issa, 34, and Ayshia Mustapha, 28, of West Chester
  The couple is accused of running multiple billing schemes through their company, Hearts of Care Home Health Care Agency, leading to an alleged $344,602 loss between June 2023 and November 2024. At their direction, the agency allegedly inflated service hours and billed for services when providers were traveling, while clients were hospitalized, and even after some providers had been removed from client service plans.

• Andrea Johnson, 53, of South Charleston
  Johnson allegedly stopped providing services to a client but continued to bill Medicaid, forging the client’s signature on timesheets. Investigators say the loss to Medicaid totaled $22,886.

• Mary Moore, 52, of Cincinnati
  Moore is accused of falsifying timesheets to make it appear she had provided care to a relative when she had not, resulting in a $2,896 loss. When asked how many hours she actually worked, investigators say she responded: “I think I should pay it all back.”

• Elizabeth Nawrot, 38, of Uhrichsville
  Nawrot allegedly billed Medicaid for seven days a week of services despite admitting to investigators that she worked only six. The loss is estimated at $5,337.

• Tiara Portis, 32, of Akron
  Portis allegedly inflated hours on billing records and submitted claims while she was traveling or when clients were unavailable. When confronted, she admitted to the fraud, according to investigators, saying she “needed the money” and “knew better.” The loss to Medicaid totaled $36,380.

• Alayjah Terrell, 29, of Cleveland
  Terrell was indicted on Medicaid fraud and theft charges after investigators calculated a $63,471 loss. She allegedly billed Medicaid for dates when she had canceled services, while recipients were hospitalized, before she was authorized on service plans, and after she had been removed from those plans.

• Gerri Toney, 59, of West Union
  Toney was charged after investigators determined that $10,111 in overpayments were made to her between July 2022 and October 2024 as a result of overbilling.

Oversight and Funding

The Ohio Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, housed within the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Section, works with federal, state and local partners to:

• Investigate and prosecute health care providers who defraud the Medicaid program.
• Enforce the state’s Patient Abuse and Neglect Law.
• Protect vulnerable adults from financial and physical harm.

The unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $16,553,872 for federal fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25% — $5,517,956 — is funded by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

All of the charges are based on indictments, which are criminal allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.