Three residents of Lancaster, South Carolina, have been sentenced for their roles in a health care fraud conspiracy involving nearly $250,000 in fraudulent Medicaid claims. Charles McKinley Griffin, 56, Tika Michelle Griffin, 48, and Kirk Nathan Evans, 55, were convicted for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
According to investigators, Charles Griffin had previously been excluded by the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) from receiving Medicaid payments due to prior violations such as billing for services not rendered and overlapping services. To circumvent this exclusion, Charles and his wife Tika Griffin created Transformation Services under Tika’s name. They used this company to continue billing Medicaid fraudulently.
Starting in 2019, Tika Griffin applied for Medicaid provider status for Transformation Services as a behavioral health services provider. The Griffins recruited Medicaid beneficiaries from after-school programs and summer camps in Lancaster and Kershaw counties. However, therapists at Transformation Services—including Kirk Evans—were not authorized by the state to provide behavioral health services. Additionally, employees did not meet individually with children as claimed; instead, they met with groups but billed Medicaid as if individual sessions had occurred over several hours.
“United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced both Charles Griffin and Tika Griffin to 30 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. Evans was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. Tika and Charles Griffin were also ordered to pay $246,335.12 in restitution to the SCDHHS. The ordered amount is joint and several between Charles and Tika Griffin. Evans was ordered to pay $152,669.63 in restitution that was joint and several with Charles and Tika Griffin’s amount. There is no parole in the federal system.”
The investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General along with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott Daniels and Scott Matthews prosecuted the case.
