A Mount Pleasant woman has been ordered to stand trial on Medicaid fraud charges, officials said.
Claudia Payne, 47, was bound over last Wednesday by a judge in 54-B District Court during a preliminary exam of her case, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office said.
An arraignment date in Ingham County Circuit Court has yet to be scheduled, the office said.
“Medicaid funding exists to care for those in need, not line the pockets of caregivers who abandon them,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “This case is a prime example of the essential work of my Health Care Fraud Division in protecting Michigan residents and safeguarding the integrity of this vital program. I am pleased these charges are moving forward to trial.”
Court records did not list an attorney for Payne on Monday.
Payne is charged with five counts of Medicaid fraud, making a false claim. Each count of the felony carries a penalty of up to four years in prison.
How the case unfolded
Prosecutors allege Payne received payment from Medicaid to provide caretaking services for an elderly disabled man in Mount Pleasant between October 2023 and November 2024, but failed to provide them and left the victim severely neglected.
Nessel’s office announced in June that it had charged Payne and three other Michigan residents as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Health Care Fraud Takedown.
The case follows others involving Medicaid fraud in Michigan.
In April, a Dearborn Heights man pleaded guilty in federal court to swindling nearly $2 million from Medicare, Medicaid, and a health insurance company.
A Macomb County dentist was charged the same month with 131 criminal counts after authorities said he ran a “massive” fraud scheme involving dental crowns.
In January, a former Saginaw doctor accused of defrauding Medicaid was ordered to stand trial on charges.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Mount Pleasant woman accused of Medicaid fraud charged
Reporting by Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
