A Vance County mental health provider has been arrested and charged with 16 felony counts related to Medicaid fraud. Bobby Faison, 41, a counselor with Prodigious Health Services, faces charges including medical assistance provider fraud, offering kickbacks and obtaining property by false pretenses, according to the office of Attorney General Roy Cooper. The arrest followed an investigation by the attorney general's Medicaid Investigations Division. The investigation was prompted by a tip from a Medicaid recipient that Prodigious had made Medicaid billings using her family's Medicaid recipient even though they had not received any services. Investigators say the scheme uncovered showed that Medicaid recipients were offered payment of utility bills and toys for their children in exchange for filling out forms revealing their Medicaid recipient numbers. Faison is alleged to have obtained or attempted to have obtained $103,075 through fraudulent claims. "Ripping off Medicaid wastes taxpayer money, hurts needy patients, and drives up health care costs," Cooper said. "Those who cheat Medicaid should expect to pay the price."(THE INSIDER, 9/12/12).
