SOMERSWORTH — Four people have been indicted on Medicaid fraud charges related to Frank’s Taxi operations, according to the state attorney general’s office.
A Strafford County grand jury recently indicted Edward Donnell IV, 38, David Hackney, 39, Liudmila Bulatova, 36, and Angelica Soule, 32, on charges related to presenting fraudulent claims for non-emergency medical transportation services, allegedly obtaining more than $20,000 for transportation services that were never provided by Frank’s Taxi between June 2, 2015 and April 30, 2016.
Donnell owned Frank’s Taxi, which was headquartered in Somersworth, and his wife, Bulatova, handled the company’s billing, according to the attorney general’s office. Hackney worked for Frank’s Taxi as a driver and a mechanic, and Soule was his girlfriend, prosecutors said.
All four were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, a Class A felony, one count of theft by deception, a Class A felony, one count of conspiracy to make false claims, a Class B felony, and one count of making false claims, a Class B felony in connection with the “scheme to defraud the state’s Medicaid Program,” the AG’s office said in a press release.
In addition, Donnell was charged with one count of presenting false records and one count of destruction of records, both Class B felonies, the attorney general’s office said.
The maximum penalty for each false claims indictment is 3½-7 years in the New Hampshire State Prison. The maximum penalty for each theft by deception indictment is 7½-15 years in prison. The maximum penalty for presenting false records and destruction of records is 3½-7 years in state prison.
All four suspects are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, Jan. 2 in Strafford County Superior Court.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas T. Worboys, the director of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, said the Frank’s Taxi case is “the first transportation case” related to Medicaid fraud “we’ve seen in the state.”
Typically in Medicaid fraud cases, the state’s Medicaid agency refers the matter to the AG’s office for investigation, Worboys said Thursday.
The four suspects were not arrested before they were indicted, so they will “receive notices to appear for arraignment,” he said.
Attorney Stephanie J. Johnson, Worboys and Investigator Robert Sullivan are prosecuting and investigating this case for the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The unit “investigates and prosecutes fraud by healthcare providers who treat Medicaid beneficiaries,” according to the AG’s office. The AG’s office stated provider fraud can be reported to MFCU at (603) 271-1246.
Healthcare providers include, but are not limited to, “hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, dentists, pharmacies, ambulance companies and anyone else who is paid for providing healthcare services to Medicaid beneficiaries,” according to the AG’s office.
Attempts to reach the Frank’s Taxi suspects for comment were not immediately successful.