TWO MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS CHARGED WITH
FELONY FRAUD AND THEFT

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., announced today that two former mental health counselors have been charged by the Baltimore City grand jury in separate criminal indictments with felony Medicaid fraud and felony theft.

Paul Ojewoye, 48, of the 3700 block of Sonara Road in Randallstown, and Abisayo Ojuko, 50, of the unit block of Liberty Place Road in Baltimore are each alleged to have caused losses to the Medicaid program during their association with a mental health counseling company called Calvary Healthcare, Inc. by causing Calvary to submit claims seeking payment from Medicaid for services which each knew had not been provided. The actions in question occurred between December 2002 and December 2003.
The cases are being prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. The cases were referred to the MFCU by the Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA), which suspended payments to Calvary in December of 2003. MHA has been working with the MFCU to root out fraud in its programs, and several cases of possible fraudulent behavior by MHA providers are currently under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.

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.

Ojuko’s arraignment is scheduled in Baltimore City Circuit Court on July 27, 2006; Ojewoye’s is set for July 28, 2006.