LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A multi-million dollar Medicaid fraud investigation has led to a federal indictment.
Two people were arrested and charged for their role in the North Carolina scheme. Donald Booker, of Charlotte, and Delores Jordan, of Kentucky, were both named.
A federal indictment in North Carolina accuses the two of defrauding Medicaid out of millions of dollars.
According to the indictment, Jordan and co-conspirators recruited Medicaid-eligible beneficiaries for housing and other programs that were tied back to Booker and Jordan.
Once enrolled in a program, investigators say that recruiters told them they were required to submit urine samples for drug testing. Those samples were reportedly submitted to a lab owned by Booker.
Investigators say those samples were medically unnecessary and this was part of a scheme that involved millions of dollars. It led to the arrests of Booker and Jordan last week.
As we mentioned earlier, Jordan was listed as a Kentucky resident.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, Jordan is registered as the agent for Serenity Keepers, an active LLC with a Lexington address.
The office is located on Daniel Court, and it is a drug treatment facility that also helps those on Medicaid afford housing.
After the indictment was filed, the FBI confirms that federal agents were dropped by the Lexington facility last week for a "judicially authorized activity" as part of an ongoing fraud investigation.
"It's not connected. So no one's getting out. That's rumors. That's when you have people sitting around bored, have nothing to talk about, and they see the FBI. That's scary," said Maurice, a peer advisor at Serenity Keepers.
Maurice is Jordan's nephew. He told LEX 18 that his aunt did know Booker but doesn't believe they did business together.
Maurice says they are doing everything by the book at Serenity Keepers. He is continuing to hold meetings and trying to help people stay clean in recovery.
"We haven't done anything illegal. We're not going to do anything illegal. This is not an illegal operation. This is a legal drug treatment program that we're doing here," said Maurice.
He also says that the facility will continue to stay open.
We talked to several residents who did not want to speak on camera, and they told LEX 18 they have been reassured the facility will stay open. But they were alarmed by the presence of federal agents and hoped the NC investigation does not interrupt their continued path to recovery that they can afford on Medicaid.
