Attorney General files charges on Oklahoma City healthcare provider

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General Mike Hunter’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has filed charges on an Oklahoma City health care provider who allegedly ran a Medicaid scam from an Oklahoma City counseling business.

Augustine Uche, 57, of Oklahoma City, was charged with two counts of Medicaid fraud and two counts of unlawful use of a computer to commit a criminal offense for submitting false Medicaid claims for services that were never performed and excessive fees to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority totaling more than $34,000.

According to court documents, an investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit was conducted between February 2015 and December 2016.

During the investigation, authorities found on several occasions Uche would submit bills to the OHCA on dates and times that conflicted with surveillance that showed him at his residence, not providing treatment at the addresses where he claimed to be administering services.

Documents also show Uche billed for counseling service hours beyond the actual time he was providing services to patients.

Hunter said his office remains committed to prosecuting perpetrators of Medicaid fraud.

“Medicaid fraud is a practice that will not be tolerated by my office,” Hunter said. “The attorneys and agents in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will continue to work diligently to ensure companies and individuals are not abusing the system that is intended to help some of our most vulnerable citizens.”

If convicted, Uche faces prison time, restitution and additional fines.