Six people face felony charges for allegedly defrauding Indiana’s Medicaid program of more than $11 million by billing for services that were never provided, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Wednesday.
The defendants were connected to Senior Home Care Agency, which provides waiver services for Indiana Medicaid participants, including attendant care, home and community assistance, and transportation services. According to Rokita’s office, the accused fraudsters accumulated millions by submitting false claims for care that vulnerable residents never received.
“Committing fraud and stealing from taxpayers is bad enough, but it is especially egregious when it’s committed against our most vulnerable citizens,” Rokita said in a statement. “Our office is committed to holding these bad actors accountable, and we’re not going to tolerate it in Indiana.”
Key Defendants and Charges
The two primary defendants, Alexander D. Byrnes and Faith A. Casas, allegedly stole $10.9 million of the total amount. Both face 14 counts of Level 4 felony fraud, 35 counts of Level 5 felony fraud, and one count of Level 6 felony fraud.
Byrnes, who owned the Senior Home Care Agency, allegedly approved fake caregiver hours into the company’s reporting system for unused client hours. Court documents reveal he spent the proceeds lavishly: $330,000 at nightclubs, $28,000 on DoorDash, over $540,000 on Novo Custom Home Design, and $42,000 on a Rolex watch.
This is not Byrnes’ first encounter with fraud charges. According to Fox 59, he pleaded guilty in 2022 to felony counts of forgery, theft, and fraud for stealing over $50,000. Judge Grant W. Hawkins suspended all but two days of his six-year sentence under a plea agreement requiring $161,433 in restitution and over 800 hours of community service. After Byrnes paid off his restitution in 2025, Hawkins vacated the original felony convictions, allowing Byrnes to instead plead guilty to four misdemeanor theft counts.
The other defendants include Nichole A. Hoyt and Jessica K. Schoof, who together allegedly stole nearly $224,000, and Cortez L. Crook and LaShawn N. Wright, accused of stealing over $75,000.
Federal Support for Fraud Investigations
The Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit that conducted the investigation receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a federal grant, with only 25 percent coming from state sources.
According to The Federalist, Attorney General Rokita’s efforts align with Vice President JD Vance’s directive to “aggressively” pursue fraud. In May, Vance announced that his anti-fraud task force would require states to prove they actually prosecute fraud, threatening to withhold billions from state coffers if they fail to comply.
The push to combat Medicaid fraud gained momentum after an Office of Inspector General report revealed that Medicaid paid out $400 million to deceased people in a single year. Another report found that five states and Washington, D.C. gave illegal immigrants over $1 billion in taxpayer funds.
Broader National Crackdown
The Indiana case is part of the Trump administration’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which has identified health care fraud cases in 45 states. The Justice Department has brought charges against 455 defendants whose alleged schemes cost Americans over $6.5 billion through health care and opioid-related fraud.
The takedown also captured foreign fraudsters from Kyrenia, a city in Cyprus, as well as Estonia and the Philippines, who allegedly stole a combined $15.5 billion through healthcare and telemedicine schemes. Fifty state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participated in the coordinated effort.
“As today’s cases and arrests show, there is no case too big, no scheme too complex, and no hiding place too remote for our relentless fraud-fighting team,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Our message is simple: if you put profit over patients, you should expect to be put in prison.”
Rokita emphasized the personal impact of such fraud on ordinary citizens. “It is important to remember that these people are stealing from taxpayers — from you,” he stated.
Source: thefederalist.com — https://thefederalist.com/2026/07/23/6-charged-with-stealing-11-million-from-indiana-taxpayers-in-medicaid-fraud-scheme/