Connie Omari, Medicaid Fraud, Virginia 2024

NORFOLK, Va. – A Raleigh, North Carolina woman has been convicted of orchestrating a massive Medicaid fraud scheme that bilked the system for over $548,000, authorities announced today.

According to court documents, Connie Omari, 37, a licensed professional counselor in both Virginia and North Carolina, owned and operated a Norfolk-based company called Sacred Journey, Inc., which provided partial hospitalization services to psychiatric patients.

Omari allegedly submitted false claims to Medicaid for services she claimed to have provided to over 100 patients between September 2015 and June 2017. However, court documents reveal that the defendant was on a trip out of the country during some of the times she billed for services, making it impossible for her to provide the services for which she was paid.

“The defendant abused her position as a licensed professional counselor to orchestrate a scheme involving the fraudulent submission of Medicaid claims for over 100 patients,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Working with our partner agencies, we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who attempt to defraud and manipulate the health care system for their own personal benefit.”

Omari’s scheme involved submitting false claims to Medicaid for services that were never provided. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18, 2022.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Kosky is prosecuting the case, with significant assistance provided by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General.

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the plea.

The case is part of a larger effort by law enforcement to crack down on Medicaid fraud and protect the integrity of the healthcare system.

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