Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced new criminal charges Tuesday against four people the state alleges stole taxpayer money and victimized vulnerable Oregonians by filing fraudulent Medicaid reimbursement claims.
Rayfield’s announcement coincided with the federal government pressing Medicaid fraud charges against more than 450 people. In Oregon, each of the new cases involved providers investigated by the state’s 22-person Medicaid Fraud Unit of investigators, auditors, attorneys and data analysts.
“At its core, combating Medicaid fraud is about fighting for working families, protecting vulnerable Oregonians and holding bad actors accountable when they take advantage of taxpayer dollars,” Rayfield said at a press conference.
None of the defendants in the recently filed cases Rayfield highlighted Tuesday have yet listed defense attorneys on the state’s court information system, and none responded to calls to publicly listed phone numbers Tuesday afternoon.
- Edward Morgan III of Beaverton faces two counts of first degree theft, two counts of forgery, two counts of identity theft and one count of computer crimes tied to fraudulently receiving housing assistance for two individuals through the state’s health-related social needs funds, according to Rayfield and charging documents.
- Linda Thomas of Corvallis and the company she owns, Gateway of Willamette Valley, each face charges for theft and making false claims for health care payments related to billing Medicaid for day support program services that were not provided to Medicaid recipients, according to Rayfield and charging documents.
- Amanda Thorne of Portland, a former Lane County employee, faces charges for allegedly making personal purchases that included paying rent and a car down payment with a government-issued credit card intended to be used for purchases for clients of Lane County’s developmental disabilities services, according to Rayfield and charging documents.
- Tedros Gebrezgabhere, who owns a medical transportation company in Portland, faces multiple charges of theft and making false claims for health care payments for billing for non-emergent medical transportation that he never provided, according to Rayfield and charging documents.
“In addition to holding bad actors accountable, we want to speak publicly about this work and these cases to hopefully deter people who might be considering taking advantage of our Medicaid system,” Rayfield said.
Approximately 1.4 million Oregonians — roughly one in three people and more than half of all children in the state — receive health care through Medicaid, known here as the Oregon Health Plan.
Staff from Rayfield’s office were among the only employees of Democratic state attorneys general offices to attend a late May meeting on anti-fraud measures Vice President JD Vance led. Rayfield said while he objected to the late notice — his office received an invitation the Friday before Memorial Day for a meeting across the country the following Tuesday — he felt it was an important issue.
“This is incredibly bipartisan work that is being done by attorney general offices across the state and their fraud units at the state level,” he said. “Currently, there are hundreds fewer people working on fraud investigations at the federal level now than there were when the Trump administration took over, and that’s why this work is so important right now at the state level. This is just another area where the states have had to step up when the federal government has stepped away from protecting consumers and taxpayers.”
The Medicaid Fraud Unit has secured 348 criminal convictions, 156 civil settlements and judgments, $14.9 million in criminal recoveries and $131.7 million in civil recoveries since 2010, Rayfield said.
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