Carr: Medicaid Fraud Division Obtains Guilty Plea in DeKalb County

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr today announced that Janice Cooks has pleaded guilty to one felony count of Medicaid Fraud in DeKalb County Superior Court. Judge Gregory A. Adams accepted the plea on Oct. 11, 2022, and sentenced the defendant to 10 years of probation. The Court also ordered the defendant to repay $31,519.60 in restitution. Cooks is now excluded from practicing as a provider of healthcare services under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

“Janice Cooks sought to defraud our publicly-funded healthcare program and undermined the reputation of a legitimate provider in the process,” said Carr. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated, and we will continue to vigorously pursue those who abuse a system meant to care for our most vulnerable. Through our Medicaid Fraud Division, our office is working each day to preserve the integrity of Georgia’s Medicaid program and protect taxpayer dollars, no matter the amount.”

Case Summary

Janice Cooks was the founder of Quilt Transitional Consulting and Development Services, LLC. While operating this business, Cooks used the name of her cousin, a licensed therapist, on a large number of records. Using these documents as support, Cooks submitted fraudulent claims with her cousin’s name as the provider. Cooks’ cousin was never an employee of Quilt and never rendered services for Quilt.

In 2019, Cooks pleaded guilty to Theft of Government Property in the Northern District of Georgia following a federal investigation into her handling of Department of Housing and Urban Development funds.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Benjamin Huntington and Jessica Hall of the Medicaid Fraud Division. Other members of the Medicaid Fraud Division who played important roles in the prosecution include Investigators Tish Murray and Lee Thompson, Nurse Investigators Nancy Dickerson and Victoria Hall, Intelligence Analyst Vanda Russell and Investigative Auditor Cecilia Isaac Vazquez.

About the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division

Since November 2016, the Georgia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division has obtained civil recoveries totaling more than $68 million. Over this same time period, the Medicaid Fraud Division has prosecuted more than 60 people for Medicaid fraud and the abuse, neglect and exploitation of older adults, resulting in $17 million in restitution orders in criminal matters.

The Georgia Medicaid Fraud Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $4,718,240 for Federal Fiscal Year 2023. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,395,464 for FY 2023, is funded by the State of Georgia.