Ohio, Feds Ramp Up Joint Fight Against Fraud

Last Thursday, members of President Donald Trump’s administration met in Columbus, Ohio, to discuss the Buckeye State’s ongoing fight against fraud.

Ohio is the first state in the country to share corporate registration records with the Department of Justice’s National Fraud Detection Center, granting investigators immediate access to important information. The announcements made last week highlighted how federal and state forces are working together in concert.

Nine defendants are being charged at the federal and state levels for allegedly defrauding the government to the tune of $42 million through Medicaid or COVID programs. In addition, the Small Business Administration announced the suspension of 27,486 Ohio borrowers connected to approximately $1.1 billion in suspected fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan activity. 

A press release from the SBA called the suspension a “victory” for the White House task force on fraud. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler praised the head of Trump’s anti-fraud task force by name, saying, “Vice President JD Vance’s leadership of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud represents a historic partnership that is delivering unprecedented wins in the fight to root out fraud and recover taxpayer dollars, while past administrations looked the other way at known criminal activity.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the partnership between Ohio and the federal government is “one that can serve as a template partnership for other states in this country.”

Mehek Cooke, who attended Thursday’s event, expressed relief at involvement from the federal government.

“As I have continued to expose fraud in Ohio and the lack of meaningful oversight, I am encouraged that Ohioans’ prayers are being answered. The federal government is paying attention, and it is focused on prevention, detection, and prosecution,” she said.

“This partnership is a major step forward because Ohio is sharing corporate-registration data with federal investigators, allowing them to follow the corporate trail behind the billing trail and identify the networks hiding behind suspicious claims.”

Former Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who also attended the event, said that fraud has “never had the level of interest and support from the federal government under any administration that you’re witnessing here today.”

Reporting from The Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak has highlighted concerns with home health centers. Beneficiaries can receive services at their own homes rather than at a nursing home.

However, the program allows family members to sign up to perform basic services and get paid to do so, which could bring in $90,000 a year per family, according to Rosiak’s reporting.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, who also came to Ohio for the event, shared that the Buckeye State has suspended 49 home health providers identified as “high risk.”

The Ohio Department of Medicaid mentioned how this aligns with fraud prevention initiatives from Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. “These initial suspensions mark a critical step forward in ensuring accountability and deterring abuse within the Medicaid system,” ODM Director Scott Partika said in a statement. “We will continue using advanced analytics and enforceable action to protect Ohioans and preserve program integrity.”

According to Cooke, the announcements demonstrate a good start but more remains to be done.

“There is still more work to do. We must break down the silos that prevent agencies from sharing information and allow fraudsters to hide in the gaps,” she said.

“This is what can happen when state and federal leaders work together with urgency. Every state should open its books and make it harder for fraudsters to hide in plain sight.”