Minnesota Medicaid fraud: 7 providers charged over $700K in false claims

(FOX 9) - A continued statewide crackdown on Medicaid fraud has led to seven people being charged with allegedly billing the government for services that they did not perform.

Medicaid fraud charges filed against seven providers

What we know:

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) has charged seven people with defrauding the state’s Medicaid program out of more than $700,000. The charges include billing for services that were never provided or performed by people without proper licenses or credentials.

Ellison’s office says since Jan. 1, 2025, the agency has stopped payment to 695 providers based on credible allegations of fraud and made more than 655 referrals to law enforcement.

Dig deeper:

Those charged include:

• Tremayne Lamar Jackson, St. Paul: Charged with seven felony theft offenses, accused of defrauding the program of over $125,000 by claiming to provide more than 6,000 hours of care he could not have performed.
• Christine Marie Pryor, Fargo: Charged with six theft and six identity theft offenses, accused of defrauding over $150,000 by claiming to provide psychotherapy and counseling services without a license.
• Fernando Navarro, Minneapolis: Charged with four felony theft offenses, accused of taking nearly $70,000 by billing for care to a child who had moved to California.
• Shawki Elsaid, Blaine: Charged with eight theft and two identity theft crimes, accused of defrauding more than $182,000 through over 1,655 fraudulent claims.
• Ahmed Agwa, Blaine: Charged with six felony theft offenses, accused of swindling over $94,000 by billing for hundreds of hours of care while out of the country.
• Edward Sherrod, Columbia Heights: Charged with six felony theft offenses, accused of billing for more than 3,500 hours of care that did not happen, totaling over $60,000.
• Jessica Wavra, East Grand Forks: Charged with five theft offenses, accused of defrauding over $29,000 by billing for mental health and case management services not provided.

What they're saying:

"I have no patience for anyone who would steal our tax dollars, especially when those tax dollars are meant to provide health care for low-income Minnesotans who couldn’t afford it otherwise," AG Ellison said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

The backstory:

The MFCU investigates and prosecutes people or organizations that steal from Medicaid or exploit, neglect, or abuse vulnerable people, a press release says. The unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with the rest coming from the State of Minnesota.