Three More Defendants Sentenced in Cobb County Medicaid Fraud Scheme

Lisa N. Hankerson and Pierre A. Hixon pleaded guilty to Racketeering, Medicaid Fraud, and Conspiracy to Defraud the State today in Cobb County Superior Court. Hankerson, Hixon, and their co-defendants obtained over $622,000 through the fraudulent billing of Georgia Medicaid and the Amerigroup Corporation. Between July 2005 and June 2010, Hankerson was the primary Medicaid biller for First Step Counseling Services, Inc. of Marietta, which provided Intensive Family Intervention counseling services, as well as Family and Individual counseling services, to troubled children in need of intensive therapy for behavioral issues. Children who qualify for these services under Medicaid typically do so because they are in danger of being removed from their homes. Hankerson is also the wife of First Step co-owner and co-defendant Garry Hankerson, who was sentenced on June 12, 2014, to serve seven years in prison and ordered to pay $622,125.43 in restitution. Hixon was a co-owner of First Step Counseling Services and served as its head of clinical services.

Read more on law.georgia.gov

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