LICENSED COUNSELOR CHARGED WITH FRAUD

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Gabriel W. Adelanwa, a licensed professional counselor and Medicaid provider of mental health services in the Prince George’s County area, was charged by criminal information with one count of Medicaid fraud. The criminal information charges that Adelanwa, of the 11000 block of Twinlakes Drive in Beltsville, from March, knowingly defrauded the Maryland Medical Assistance Program in excess of $500.00 in connection with a public mental health services program administered by the Mental Hygiene Administration. The alleged charges took place between March 2002 and April 2004. Specifically, Adelanwa is charged with submitting claims to the Medicaid program and being paid for those claims although he falsely represented that he had provided individual, group and family therapy to Medical Assistance recipients, when he knew the services were not provided. An arraignment is scheduled for August 11 in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County.

A criminal information is an accusation and all persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Medicaid Fraud is a felony and punishable by up to five years incarceration and a fine up to $100,000.00. In addition, Smith faces exclusion from the program as a Medicaid provider for a period up to five years.

The case is being prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. The MFCU conducted the investigation with assistance from the Mental Hygiene Administration (MHA.) 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.