CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Markuetric Stringfellow, 37, of Powder Springs, Georgia, is facing federal consequences after admitting to a sprawling conspiracy to bleed millions from the Medicaid programs in both North and South Carolina. Stringfellow pleaded guilty to federal charges in U.S. District Courts across both states, a grim testament to the reach of his alleged scheme, according to announcements made by U.S. Attorneys Andrew Murray (Western District of North Carolina) and Peter M. McCoy, Jr. (District of South Carolina).
The North Carolina end of the operation centered around Everlasting Vitality, LLC (EV) and Do-It-4-The Hood Corporation (D4H), after-school programs Stringfellow co-owned. From January 2016 to November 2018, these programs weren’t about education; they were recruitment hubs for vulnerable children enrolled in Medicaid. Stringfellow and his crew allegedly paid recruiters to sign up at-risk youth, then *required* drug tests as a condition of participation. These tests weren’t for the kids’ benefit. They were the linchpin of a kickback scheme.
Here’s how it worked: Stringfellow’s organizations funneled Medicaid beneficiaries – those kids – to specific drug testing labs. In exchange for these referrals, the labs paid kickbacks to companies controlled by Stringfellow and his associates. But it didn’t stop there. Court documents reveal a deliberate effort to exploit the system further. Stringfellow and his co-conspirators allegedly obtained personal identifying information (PII) – names, addresses, Medicaid numbers – from D4H clients and fed it to labs that were willing to submit fraudulent claims. These claims were for tests that were either medically unnecessary or, worse, weren’t even performed on the actual Medicaid recipients.
The fraud wasn’t limited to bogus tests. The labs, knowing the claims were illegitimate, submitted them to North Carolina Medicaid anyway. When the money rolled in, they kicked back a percentage to Stringfellow’s entities, completing the cycle of deceit. This wasn’t a case of sloppy billing; it was a calculated, cold-hearted effort to exploit a system designed to help those in need. U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer oversaw today’s guilty plea, a small step toward accountability.
But the North Carolina scheme was just one piece of the puzzle. Stringfellow also admitted to defrauding South Carolina Medicaid through Wrights Care Services LLC, a provider of rehabilitative behavioral health services. As a franchise owner, he oversaw locations across the state, including Columbia, Spartanburg, and Cheraw. Wrights Care became a Medicaid provider in April 2014, opening the door for Stringfellow to allegedly exploit the system again, starting around 2014. Details of the South Carolina fraud are still emerging, but the pattern of exploitation appears strikingly similar.
The full extent of the financial damage remains under investigation, but investigators believe Stringfellow and his co-conspirators siphoned off a substantial amount of taxpayer money. Sentencing dates have not yet been announced. Stringfellow’s guilty pleas represent a significant victory for federal prosecutors, but the case serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of social programs to predatory schemes and the lengths to which some individuals will go to enrich themselves at the expense of the public good. Expect further indictments as the investigation continues to peel back the layers of this complex fraud.
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Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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