Ohio Indicts 8 in Medicaid Fraud and Nursing Home Theft Cases — Including a Caregiver Who Billed From Jamaica

Columbus, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has charged eight people in a sweeping round of indictments accusing five Medicaid providers of stealing more than half a million dollars from the program — and three others of stealing directly from nursing home residents.

The combined alleged Medicaid loss tops $542,000. Yost’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit secured the indictments in Franklin County, where prosecutors say one defendant alone is responsible for more than $400,000 of the fraud.

“Caregivers are meant to protect the vulnerable, not exploit them,” Yost said in announcing the charges. “My office will never tolerate thieves who line their pockets at the expense of elderly, disabled and low-income Ohioans.”

The cases paint a striking picture of how easily fraud can slip through the cracks when oversight relies on caregiver-submitted timesheets. They also land at a moment when federal officials are leaning hard on states to tighten anti-fraud enforcement across Medicaid.

Billing from the Caribbean

The largest case involves Ebony Jones, 23, of Akron, who allegedly billed Medicaid $412,219 for in-home care she didn’t provide. Investigators initially flagged nine trips she took to Jamaica between 2022 and 2025. Then they dug deeper. Two clients told them they hadn’t laid eyes on Jones in three years, even though her billing records showed daily visits.

Tina Turner, 54, of Ironton, faces similar charges. She allegedly billed Medicaid while on Caribbean cruises in 2024 and 2025, racking up a $5,266 loss. When confronted, she initially argued the billing made up for unpaid hours she’d worked. She later acknowledged that billing for services that didn’t happen is fraud.

Kimberly Henry, 56, of Columbus, allegedly kept billing for in-home services after her client was hospitalized for four months, racking up $16,102 in fraudulent charges. Darnicia Burge, 27, of Cleveland, allegedly forged timesheets and double-billed across two jobs — clocked into a care facility while simultaneously billing Medicaid for 272 home-health visits. Robert Lomas, 62, a licensed chemical dependency counselor in Defiance, allegedly billed for $106,620 worth of counseling sessions that never happened.

Theft from inside long-term care

Three of the indictments hit closer to the bedside. Astashiona McDonald, 26, and Diamond Tate, 27, both of Columbus, are charged with forgery and theft from a person in a protected class. Investigators say they stole $3,500 from a resident at a Columbus long-term care facility after the resident reported nine missing checks. Two had been cashed — by McDonald, a person the victim said she didn’t know. Tate, an aide at the facility, was McDonald’s romantic partner and allegedly helped facilitate the theft.

Brian Otler, 43, of Columbus, faces charges of theft from a person in a protected class and credit card misuse. Prosecutors say he drained $35,335 from an elderly relative with dementia between December 2024 and March 2025, accessing her bank accounts to pay off personal debt while the victim was living in a long-term care facility.

Ohio’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which receives 75% of its funding from a $16.5 million federal grant, also enforces the state’s Patient Abuse and Neglect Law. Officials said the indictments are criminal allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent.