Former employee of Ohio nonprofit found guilty of fraudulent Medicaid billing practices

United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko announced Thursday that Eric King, 35, a former employee of Eye For Change Youth and Family Services, Inc., a nonprofit corporation in Cleveland, was found guilty of 13 counts of health care fraud, one count of false statement relating to health care matters and five counts of aggravated identity theft.

The jury acquitted King of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, eight counts of health care fraud, one count of false statement relating to health care matters and one count of aggravated identity theft. The trial lasted eight days and was presided over by U.S. District Judge Patricia Gaughan.

According to court documents and trial testimony, from June 2018 through May 2021, King defrauded Medicaid by causing Medicaid to be billed for services not actually performed or for services that were not actually performed for the amount of time the billing codes reflected; for falsifying progress notes into Medicaid beneficiary electronic records; for creating false progress notes; and for using the identities of clients without authorization to bill Medicaid. As a result of King’s conduct, Medicaid paid over $483,000 for fraudulent billings.

King is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 15, 2023.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Cleveland Division of the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General and the Ohio Attorney General’s Healthcare Fraud Section. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward D. Brydle and Brian M. McDonough, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan L. Metzler.