Staff Reports
A Maryland woman has been hit with a 38‑count federal indictment accusing her of bilking the District’s Medicaid system for more than $109,000. The case is a reminder that fraud can hide inside health care programs meant to help the most vulnerable. Prosecutors say the scheme involved fake notes, recycled file language, and altered records after a news story drew attention to one client.
Indictment details: 38 counts, over $109,000 alleged loss
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced that prosecutors say Camille Aba, a community support worker at Family Wellness Center in Southeast D.C., billed D.C. Medicaid for services she did not provide. The indictment lists 18 counts of first‑degree felony fraud, 18 counts of first‑degree theft, one count of misdemeanor fraud, and one count of second‑degree theft — 38 counts in all. Prosecutors allege the scheme led to more than $109,000 in improper payments. Assistant United States Attorney Linda Monroe is assigned to prosecute the case.
How investigators say they uncovered the scheme
According to the government, the D.C. Department of Health Care Finance began reviewing case files after a high‑profile news article about a D.C. bus shooting mentioned a person who had been a Medicaid client. Prosecutors allege that Aba changed notes after that article and that a broader review showed many billed encounters never happened. The D.C. Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the U.S. Attorney’s Major Crimes Section handled the probe. A felony status conference is set for December, and no trial date has been set yet.
Bigger picture: enforcement is stepping up, but problems remain
This prosecution sits inside a larger push to fight health‑care fraud. The Department of Justice has created a National Fraud Enforcement Division and still runs the Health Care Fraud Strike Force. That effort has produced thousands of charges and billions in alleged billings nationwide. Still, small schemes that slip through the cracks add up. When a few hundred thousand dollars can be wasted here and there, taxpayers and patients lose trust in Medicaid and in providers who do right by their clients.
What should happen next
Prosecutors must prove the charges, and an indictment is only an accusation. But the case raises real oversight questions for Family Wellness Center, for DHCF, and for anyone running taxpayer‑funded care programs. The District should explain how it will recover money and stop similar fraud. Until then, Americans paying into Medicaid deserve stronger checks and swifter consequences for those who allegedly steal from a system meant to protect the needy.
