9 Investigates

9 Investigates: Group formed fake after-school program to commit Medicaid fraud

4 arrested in Medicaid fraud scheme

9 Investigates found out a group pf men are accused of stealing from at-risk youth and disabled seniors to fund lives of luxury.

Investigators said the men used families across central Florida to run up Medicaid bills so high, that the government stopped paying.

Documents said the suspects ran a bogus after-school program to get the information they needed from families.

Some families found out they were fraud victims when they received letters from the government, denying Medicaid claims they never knew existed.

Investigators believe many of the victim were recruited from Jones High School.

A victim, who asked not to be identified, said the government now thinks her teenager suffers from a mental illness.

“They said that they had offered all of these services to him for his mental health and all of that. And he doesn’t have a mental issue,” she said.

Another victim, a disabled woman who also asked not to be identified, said she signed up for rides to doctor’s appointments and her information was stolen.

The Florida Attorney General’s Office said the men stole people’s Medicaid numbers and filed false claims for years.

The official report said they were “taking advantage of the population’s most vulnerable.”

One of the suspects, Micah Harrell, is a licensed teacher and counselor.

Investigators said his dad, Jimmie Harrell, who was also part of the scheme, is a preacher.

A third suspect, Kenneth Durden, has a counseling license in Georgia.

Keith Daly, a former managed care contractor’s employee, is accused of helping the scheme stay under the radar.

Investigators said the men racked up nearly $600,000 in Medicaid money, which stopped when Medicaid started sending out letters cutting off the individual patients.

The alleged thieves make enough money to lease two apartments in an Orlando high-rise, while taking advantage of low-income families throughout central Florida.

Investigators are working on charges against the men for the same thing in other states.