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[MM Curator Summary]: Donald Booker stole $11M from NC using bogus drug testing and mental health services claims.
Clipped from: https://www.wfae.org/crime-justice/2023-01-11/charlotte-man-convicted-in-multimillion-dollar-medicaid-scheme
A jury convicted Charlotte man Donald Booker, 57, of federal charges in connection with a scheme that fraudulently took more than $11 million from the North Carolina Medicaid program, prosecutors said this week.
According to court filings and trial testimony, Booker was the owner of Diagnostic Laboratories, a urine toxicology testing laboratory, and United Youth Care Services, a company that provided mental health and substance abuse treatment services.
His co-defendant, Delores Jordan, pleaded guilty in December. Jordan owned housing provider Legacy Housing.
From January 2016 to August 2019, Booker and Jordan worked with others to defraud the NC Medicaid program, prosecutors said. They said Jordan enrolled vulnerable and Medicaid-income people for housing benefits and other services, and then referred them to Booker’s company for “medically unnecessary” urine screens and drug tests. Booker then paid kickbacks to Jordan and other co-conspirators in exchange for the business, prosecutors said.
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The jury convicted Booker of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, multiple violations of Anti Kickback Statute, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering.
Jordan pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Their sentencing dates have not been set.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, IRS and NC Medicaid Investigations Division.
“I’m grateful to our federal and state partners for helping bring this person to account,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Medicaid resources belong to the taxpayers, and we’ll hold accountable anyone who defrauds the program.”
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