Kentucky doctor found guilty of Medicaid fraud

March 13, 2017

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SOMERSET, Ky. (AP) – A jury in Pulaski County has found a physician guilty of receiving payment from Kentucky’s Medicaid program for tobacco cessation counseling that he did not perform.

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear says in a news release that the circuit court jury found 58-year-old Dr. Ezekiel Akande of Somerset guilty last week of Medicaid fraud and theft by unlawful taking over $10,000. Both charges are felonies.

Akande operated Somerset Regional Pain Center. The attorney general’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse handled Akande’s prosecution. It alleged he billed Medicaid for counseling when the patient was a nonsmoker or a smoker who did not desire to quit smoking.

Akande faces up to five years in prison. Sentencing has been set for April 21.