Salem Man Charged in Health Care Fraud Scheme

Timothy M. Morrison, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced that JAMES M. MOORE, Salem Indiana, was charged today with Health Care Fraud, following an investigation by the Health and Human Services Administration, Office of Inspector General, Indiana Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Information alleges that from June 2003 through December 2007, MOORE operated a medical transportation business, Medi-Ride, Inc., in Salem, Indiana transporting, among others, Indiana Medicaid patients to and from medical appointments. The information alleges that MOORE knowingly billed Medicaid for transporting Medicaid recipients who were able to walk (ambulatory) as if they were unable to walk (non-ambulatory), thereby doubling his reimbursement for the transport, for a total loss to the Indiana Medicaid program of approximately $348,000.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Winfield D. Ong, who is prosecuting the case for the government, MOORE faces a maximum possible prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum possible fine of $250,000.

An initial hearing will be scheduled for before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in New Albany, Indiana.

The information is an allegation only, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial or by guilty plea.