TAXI DRIVER CHARGED WITH DEFRAUDING MEDICAID

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., announced today that Kevin Simmons, 48, of the 10300 block of Kentsdale Drive in Waldorf has been charged in a criminal indictment filed in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County with felony Medicaid fraud and felony theft arising from his work as a taxi driver.

Through a grant to Montgomery County, the Medicaid program pays taxi companies for their transportation of eligible Medicaid recipients to and from medical appointments. It is alleged that from January through April of 2003, while driving a taxi cab for Barwood, Inc., Simmons knowingly caused Barwood, Inc. to bill Montgomery County for taxi transportation of Medicaid recipients that he was aware he had not performed. The amount of the fraud is alleged to be approximately $18,000. Simmons is charged with four counts of felony Medicaid fraud and one count of felony theft.

A warrant has been issued for Simmons’ arrest. Any person who has information as to Kevin Simmons’ current location is requested to contact Corporal David Sexton at (410) 576-6385.

While an indictment is only an accusation and all persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, a charge of felony Medicaid fraud is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $100,000 fine. Felony theft is punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years and a fine of $25,000.

The case is being prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, with assistance from the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.