In an awesome statement released on Tuesday, January 13, the office of North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that it had caught and convicted a Nigerian immigrant of a massive welfare fraud scheme in which he pilfered tens of thousands of dollars from Medicaid by faking dozens of claims.
As background, the migrant involved, Ekelekamchukwu Alphonsus Ngwadom, is apparently a “king” in Nigeria: over the same period that he was caught stealing from taxpayers in North Carolina, Ngwadom, who is also the Chairman of the African Diaspora Coalition of North Carolina and a professor at the University of Mount Olive, was apparently crowned as a “king”.
Such is what North Carolina-focused news publication The Triangle Trumpet reported, noting: “It was during this same period that Ngwadom was crowned King or “Eze” of the Mbubu-Amiri kingdom in Nigeria’s Imo State, according to a local news source . . . (There are many such “traditional rulers“ recognized by and holding limited power under the Federal Republic of Nigeria).”
In any case, the “king” was arrested and convicted of fraud, as NC AG Jackson’s office said, providing, “Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that Ekelekamchukwu Alphonsus Ngwadom was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of 6-17 months, suspended for 36 months of supervised probation.”
Continuing, the statement noted that he will have to repay the money he was caught stealing from American taxpayers, providing, “As conditions of probation, he was ordered to 90 days of house arrest and ordered to pay $72,014.66 in restitution after pleading guilty to 27 counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.”
Further, the statement briefly described the scheme that the “king” used to steal so much money, noting, “Between February 18, 2020, and March 18, 2021, Ngwadom submitted $72,014.66 in fraudulent claims to Alliance Health for providing behavioral health services to 27 Medicaid recipients, including children, that were never provided. Alliance Health then paid Ngwadom based on those false claims.”
Building on that, it noted that the insurance company had originally discovered the fraud, saying, “Alliance Health’s program integrity section first detected and reported Ngwadom’s fraud. This investigation was a result of a referral made by the NC DHHS Division of Health Benefits NC Medicaid Office of Compliance and Program Integrity to MID.”
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So, it then worked with state authorities to crack down on the fraudulent king, as the office noted, saying, “The Medicaid Investigations Division of the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office investigated and prosecuted the case with the collaboration and support of the North Carolina Department of Insurance and the Wake County District Attorney’s Office.”
Attorney General Jackson, commenting on the scandal, noted that fraud like this steals not just from taxpayers, but from needy Americans who rely on such services to access much-needed care. He said, “When people defraud the Medicaid program, they are stealing money from North Carolina taxpayers and from those who rely on this care.”
Adding to that, he noted that his office has a zero-tolerance policy for such horrid behavior, and will continue cracking down on it. He said, “My office will not allow it, and we’re going to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to prevent fraud.”
Featured image credit: Mugshot