Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrests of Alexander McKinnie and Kara Morrison in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Florida’s Medicaid program through false reimbursement claims.
“Medicaid fraud is a clear example of theft from taxpayers,” Uthmeier said. “In Florida, our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will safeguard public funds and aggressively pursue anyone who exploits these programs.”
According to investigators with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, McKinnie submitted tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent claims for non-emergency medical transportation gas reimbursements for trips that never occurred. Authorities say McKinnie billed Medicaid for more than $65,000 in medical services that were never provided.
Investigators also determined that Morrison assisted McKinnie in the scheme by submitting approximately $7,000 in false reimbursement claims.
McKinnie is charged with one count of Medicaid Provider Fraud exceeding $50,000 and one count of Organized Scheme to Defraud. Both charges are first-degree felonies, each punishable by up to 30 years in the Florida Department of Corrections and a $10,000 fine.
Morrison is charged with one count of Medicaid Provider Fraud involving less than $10,000 and one count of Organized Scheme to Defraud. Both charges are third-degree felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to $5,000.
McKinnie was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, while Morrison was taken into custody by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The cases will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney for Florida’s Eighteenth Judicial Circuit.
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