Lynchburg, Va. – The grimy details of the 1st Adult N Pediatric Healthcare fraud scandal took a darker turn as Shekita Gore, also known as Shekita Steele, and two others, pled guilty to a healthcare fraud conspiracy.
Gore, 38, from Clinton, Maryland, and Eno Utuk, 47, of Stafford, Virginia, each admitted their roles in the scheme. They face up to 10 years in prison at sentencing.
Elizabeth Ilome, 41, also from Stafford, pled guilty to misprision of a felony, with a potential sentence of three years.
The trio joined previous defendants Carolyn Bryant-Taylor and Kafomdi ‘Josephine’ Okocha, as well as Samuel Okocha, all charged for their involvement in the fraudulent billing of Medicaid for services not rendered.
Court documents reveal that the scheme involved submitting false claims for nursing and personal care services. Gore confessed to falsifying records to support these claims, while Utuk and Ilome admitted to paying family members for signed blank nursing notes.
Between 2017 and 2023, Bryant-Taylor and Okocha orchestrated payments to patient guardians in exchange for blank nursing notes that were then used to bill Medicaid. The scheme bilked taxpayers out of substantial sums.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and Virginia Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Jones and Laura Taylor are leading the prosecution.
RELATED: Maryland Woman Pleads Guilty to Healthcare Fraud Conspiracy
Related Federal Cases
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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