Staff Reports
A federal jury in the Eastern District of Virginia found three people guilty this week in a brazen Medicaid fraud scheme that used a Henrico mental health agency, Divine Youth Counseling, as the racket. The verdicts show once again that crooks will cloak greed in the language of care, then steal from taxpayers who expect help, not hotel rooms and luxury cars.
Federal Jury Convicts Three in $11M Medicaid Fraud
The jury convicted twin sisters E’mon Ambers and Armone’ Ambers and Traquan Brown for their roles in submitting more than $11 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims tied to Crisis Stabilization and Mobile Crisis services. Prosecutors say the sisters ran Divine Youth — one as CEO, the other as program director — while Brown, a staff counselor and E’mon’s boyfriend, helped bill Medicaid for services that either never happened or were falsified. The government also says the trio paid over $470,000 in illegal kickbacks, including hotel rooms bought to steer patients to Divine Youth.
How the Scheme Worked
According to the evidence presented at trial, staff were told to fake “team treatment” notes so Divine Youth could bill higher rates for two providers when only one showed up. Prosecutors cited examples where providers were billed for face‑to‑face care while records showed travel to other states or even incarceration for the supposed patient. The indictment also traces the proceeds to flashy spending: luxury clothes, two matching Mercedes‑Benz G‑Wagons, and a home in Richmond, Texas. Federal agents seized nearly $6 million in connected funds.
Enforcement and Consequences
This prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia with help from the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It’s also being touted as part of the Department of Justice’s new National Fraud Enforcement Division under Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald and the Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. The defendants face a forfeiture hearing on Dec. 14 and sentencing on Dec. 15, where a federal judge will decide prison time and restitution.
The Takeaway: Crackdowns Should Continue
Taxpayers should be furious — and they should expect their government to keep hunting fraudsters who turn help into a business model for theft. The Ambers case is a textbook example of how bad actors exploit compassionate programs and the good faith of vulnerable people. If officials keep following the money and holding people accountable, more of these schemes will get shut down. And for anyone thinking of using Medicaid funds to buy hotel rooms and G‑Wagons: enjoy the headlines, because justice is coming.
