Husband and Wife Arrested in $745,000 Fla. Medicaid Fraud Scam

A Broward County, Fla. husband and wife have been arrested for their involvement in a scam that defrauded the Florida Medicaid Program out of more than $745,000, according to Attorney General Charlie Crist. Karl Alderman and his wife, Elizabeth Alderman, were arrested by law enforcement officers with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Investigators with the unit uncovered the fraud while investigating Alderman Group Home Inc., owned by Karl Alderman, 40, and Elizabeth Alderman, 37. The company managed two group homes, Heavenly Angels and Angel Wings, both located in Southwest Ranches. Further investigation determined that the Aldermans were allegedly systematically overbilling the Medicaid program for rehabilitation services provided to Medicaid recipients living in the Aldermans’ group homes.

As part of the investigation, Crist’s office seized more than $30,000 of fraudulently obtained funds located in various personal and business accounts controlled by the Aldermans. When confronted by authorities with the apparent overbilling, Karl Alderman blamed his 14-year-old son, whom Alderman claimed was his billing agent. Investigators estimate that the fraud began in July 2003 and continued through April 2004.

The Aldermans are being held at the Miami-Dade County jail. Each is charged with one count of organized scheme to defraud. If convicted, they each face up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The case will be prosecuted by Crist’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.

Topics Fraud