Baltimore Pharmacist Convicted of Medicaid Fraud

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today announced that Paul Ojewoye, 49, of the 3700 block of Sonara Road in Randallstown, pled guilty in Baltimore City Circuit Court to felony Medicaid fraud. Ojewoye, a pharmacist and owner of a mental health clinic, submitted false mental health billings of at least $6,000. Ojewoye was sentenced to probation before judgment by Judge John M. Glynn and was ordered to pay $6,000 restitution and another $6,000 civil penalty. As a condition of the plea, Ojewoye paid the full penalty and restitution at sentencing.

Ojewoye was an owner of and counselor for Calvary Healthcare Services, Inc., a now-defunct mental health counseling company that provided counseling services to juvenile Medicaid recipients. From December, 2002 through September, 2003, in his capacity as counselor, Ojewoye completed contact notes that documented the date and time of each clinical service he provided, and then billed those services to Medicaid. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General discovered more than 100 instances when Ojewoye documented services that could not have occurred. Investigators also discovered numerous occasions when Ojewoye claimed to have counseled a child who resided in a secure juvenile facility that had no record of him ever visiting.

The case was 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), which suspended payments to Calvary in December of 2003. MHA has been working with the MFCU to root out fraud in its programs. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstock for his work on the case.