Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declared Ohio the site of one of America’s most significant fraud operations as federal authorities announced charges against 14 defendants accused of stealing $57 million through Medicaid schemes, COVID-19 relief fraud, and romance scams.

Medicaid Fraud Ring Targets Children’s Services

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Ohio charged four defendants in an alleged $30 million behavioral health fraud scheme involving false Medicaid billing for services supposedly provided to children and young adults. Authorities seized three bank accounts containing approximately $469,000 and 14 vehicles valued at roughly $800,000 during the investigation. The Justice Department said nine defendants face combined federal and state charges tied to more than $42 million in alleged fraud across multiple schemes.

Robert Haley faces 31 state charges in Butler County, including forgery, Medicaid fraud, aggravated theft, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Prosecutors allege Haley submitted more than 60,000 fraudulent Medicaid claims between January 2020 and May 2026 for services never provided, resulting in over $12 million in improper payments. Investigators say he created false records when authorities began examining his operation.

FBI Director Announces Most Wanted Fraudsters List

FBI Director Kash Patel joined Blanche in Ohio to unveil a new “Most Wanted Fraudsters” program designed to publicize wanted fraud suspects nationwide. The announcement included details of additional cases, including an alleged $1.4 million Paycheck Protection Program scheme and a separate $15 million romance scam case involving five defendants. Federal authorities announced the immediate suspension of 49 home health care providers identified as high-risk operations potentially involved in fraudulent billing practices.

New Enforcement Task Force Targets Healthcare Fraud

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced Ohio will establish a dedicated “Medicaid fraud room” to coordinate investigations. “We’re coming after you wherever you are,” Oz said during the announcement. The federal action follows Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s implementation of a six-month moratorium on new home healthcare and hospice businesses becoming Medicaid providers. The moratorium aims to prevent high-risk providers from entering the system while authorities investigate existing fraud operations.

Protecting Taxpayer Dollars

The crackdown represents a coordinated effort between federal and state prosecutors to protect taxpayer dollars from fraudulent schemes targeting government healthcare programs. Blanche emphasized the administration’s commitment to pursuing fraud cases aggressively. “We will not stop until we fix this problem,” he said. The cases highlight vulnerabilities in the Medicaid system that allowed defendants to allegedly submit thousands of false claims over multiple years before detection. Federal officials say the new task forces and enforcement programs aim to identify suspicious billing patterns earlier and prevent future fraud schemes from reaching the scale seen in these Ohio cases.