Cleveland Man Charged with Scheming to Defraud Medicaid

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today a federal indictment was filed charging James A. White with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with the operation of his ambulette company, JAW Technology, Inc., doing business as Cheerful Transportation. White, age 57, last resided in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ambulette services contracted with the Ohio Medicaid program to transport patients in vehicles known as ambulettes. An ambulette is a specially equipped van designed for wheelchair passengers. Medicaid pays ambulette operators for driving Medicaid patients to and from Medicaid-covered appointments, so long as: (1) the patient rides in a wheelchair; (2) a medical doctor certifies the need for the wheelchair and ambulette; and (3) the ambulette itself otherwise meets safety specifications.

The defendant is charged with scheming to defraud Medicaid of approximately $120,000 by charging Medicaid for rides of patients who did not use wheelchairs or require the need of wheelchairs.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and factors unique to each case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offenses and the characteristics of the violations.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Cleveland office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. Collyer.

An indictments is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.