Steven Platt, a North Carolina resident, entered a plea of guilty to two counts of Medicaid Fraud today in Dekalb County Superior Court. The Court sentenced Mr. Platt to serve 2 years in prison, followed by 12 years of probation, and restitution in the amount of $400,000.00.

Platt’s co-defendant, Maria Didier, entered her plea of guilty to one count of Medicaid Fraud on August 18, 2015, and was sentenced to 2 years probation and a $10,000.00 fine.

Platt obtained and used the special provider number assigned to his co-defendant, Maria Didier, which identified her as an authorized Medicaid provider in Georgia to provide behavioral health therapy to disadvantaged children. Platt also obtained recipient identification numbers of over 300 children. This enabled Platt to access and electronically bill claims through the Medicaid web portal. He submitted false claims to Wellcare and Amerigroup, Care Management Organizations contracted with the State to administer the Medicaid program.

Medicaid funds, through the CMO’s Amerigroup and Wellcare, in excess of $84,477.72 and $384,656.60 respectively, were paid to Platt in the form of paper checks and electronic deposits, all of which were deposited into Platt’s bank accounts. There were no services documented to support the billing.

The preliminary investigation was conducted by DCH Program Integrity Investigators Jonathan McGehee and Renee Sherwood. The case underwent further investigation and was prepared for prosecution by the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit: Investigator Johnny R. Brooks, Forensic Auditor Aaron Cohen, and Intelligence Analyst Zwella Boyd. The prosecution was conducted by Henry A. Hibbert, A.A.G. and Lyndie Freeman, A.A.G.

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