Tuesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) announced the indictment of a former Troy counselor on charges of Medicaid fraud and theft.
AG Marshall announced that Yvonne Bradford-Porterfield had been arrested on charges that she defrauded the Alabama Medicaid Agency. Bradford-Porterfield is 61 and a former resident of Troy. She surrendered Tuesday morning at the Montgomery County Detention Facility and was released on a $10,000 bond.
Attorney General Marshall’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) presented evidence to a Montgomery County grand jury resulting in Bradford-Porterfield’s indictment in April of 2017. The indictment charges her with one count of Medicaid fraud and one count of first-degree theft of property. She has resided out-of-state since before the indictment was returned against her.
The case was investigated by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit after it was referred from the Alabama Medicaid Agency’s Program Integrity Division.
Prosecutors allege that, while Bradford-Porterfield was the owner of Because We Care Counseling Service in Troy, that she submitted claims to the Medicaid Agency for counseling sessions for at-risk youth that never occurred. Prosecutors allege that Bradford-Porterfield received over $11,000 in improper payments.
If convicted, Bradford-Porterfield could face a maximum penalty of two to 20 years for the theft charge, which is a class B felony, and one to 10 years for the Medicaid fraud charge, which is a class C felony.
An indictment is merely an accusation. Everyone is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty as judged by a jury of their peers.
Steve Marshall was appointed Attorney General by then Governor Robert Bentley (R) in 2017. Marshall defeated a crowded GOP primary field to get the GOP nomination for AG. Marshall faces Joseph Siegelman (D) in the general election on November 6.
According to the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in 2016 the Alabama Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) conducted 62 Medicaid fraud investigations, returned 23 indictments, and 11 civil settlements/judgements. The unit’s eight member staff recovered $17,034,541 at a cost of just $1,379,311. By comparison Mississippi’s MFCU has a staff of 35, conducted 521 investigations, returned 54 indictments, 64 convictions, 14 civil settlements/judgement, and recovered $19,821,844 at a cost of $3,406,060. Georgia’s MFCU has a staff of 44, conducted 495 investigations, returned 19 indictments, 15 convictions, 18 civil settlements/judgement, and recovered $31,571,210 at a cost of $4,719,262. Tennessee’s MFCU has a staff of 36, conducted 273 investigations, returned 35 indictments, 44 convictions, 22 civil settlements/judgement, and recovered $105,835,521 at a cost of $4,828,604. Florida’s MFCU has a staff of 156, conducted 664 investigations, returned 78 indictments, 51 convictions, 21 civil settlements/judgement, and recovered $165,545,781 at a cost of $17,316,568. Louisiana’s MFCU has a staff of 54, conducted 492 investigations, returned 86 indictments, 75 convictions, 16 civil settlements/judgement, and recovered $40,374,660 at a cost of $5,710,826.
https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/medicaid-fraud-control-units-mfcu/maps/interactive-map2016.asp#
