Compliance director and office manager of substance abuse company convicted in scheme to pay Medicaid kickbacks to patients

Date: August 25, 2025

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NEW BERN, N.C. - Two former leaders of Life Touch LLC, a Kinston-based substance abuse treatment company, have pleaded guilty to their roles in a scheme to pay kickbacks to Medicaid patients. Keke Komeko Johnson, of Pikeville, the Compliance Director, and Francine Sims Super, of Kinston, an office manager, admitted to their roles in a scheme involving the payment of kickbacks to patients, and tax violations.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office and our federal and local law enforcement partners will continue to pursue crooks who prey upon America's generous social service safety net. These two fraudsters not only targeted federal tax dollars but also took advantage of vulnerable individuals who were trying to turn their lives around. The more kickbacks that they paid to vulnerable addicts, the more they were able to help the company steal from Medicaid," said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. "This case leaves no doubt: Medicaid kickback thieves face serious consequences."

According to court documents, Johnson, Super, and others, used Medicaid reimbursement funds to purchase more than $1 million in gift cards. In some instances, the purchases were routed through personal bank accounts. The gift cards were then routinely handed out to patients on a weekly basis to incentivize the patients to show up for services. Over four years, Johnson, Super, and other Life Touch LLC employees and agents, routinely paid patients based on the number of days per week that the patients showed up to receive services. Every day a patient showed up, the more money Lifetouch LLC received as a kickback. In furtherance of the scheme, Johnson made false statements to Medicaid auditors, and Super created false documents to support their crimes.

According to court documents, Johnson and Super also received kickbacks from 1st Choice Healthcare Services, LLC, a lab company that they hired for drug testing services for Life Touch LLC patients. Neither reported this as income on tax returns, which meant they committed the crime of failure to file a tax return.

At sentencing, scheduled for November of 2025, Johnson faces a maximum of 11 years in prison. Super faces a maximum of 6 years in prison.

Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after Magistrate Judge Kimberly A. Swank accepted the plea. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, and the North Carolina Attorney General's Office - Medicaid Investigations Division investigated this case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tasha Gardner, and Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Gilmore are prosecuting the case for the government.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.