Alachua, Florida Medicaid Provider Arrested After $4,400 Theft from Medicaid Program

August 22, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced the arrest of an Alachua County man accused of billing the Florida Medicaid program for services he never provided. Terence Pollard was under contract with the Medicaid program to help recipients locate and secure various forms of employment, but submitted more than $4,400 of fraudulent claims to the Medicaid program. He was arrested by authorities with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

Pollard, 44, owned and operated Total Motivational Services, a company that operated under the Medicaid Waiver program and claimed to provide supported employment services, which are defined as efforts made to assist the beneficiary with acquiring and retaining paid employment. An investigation conducted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit revealed that Pollard repeatedly billed the Medicaid program for services he never provided to Medicaid recipients over an extended period of time. As part of the investigation, the company’s Medicaid claims and other records were subpoenaed and reviewed and authorities determined that Pollard submitted at least 14 separate claims on behalf of one Medicaid recipient yet never met with the recipient or provided her with any services.

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The investigation into Pollard’s fraudulent billing was initiated by a complaint referred by the Agency for Health Care Administration’s Medicaid Program Integrity Unit. Pollard was criminally charged with Medicaid provider fraud and grand theft, both third-degree felonies, and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the 8th Judicial Circuit.

Source: Florida Attorney General