Nine charged in SDTX as part of national health care fraud takedown

HOUSTON - Several people in and around the Houston area as well as a Nevada woman have been indicted in various schemes including illegal drug diversion and attempts to defraud Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE which involve a total of over $1 billion in alleged fraud, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.

The charges include alleged pill mill clinics, fraud involving mental health care as well as allegations of improper wound care treatment on elderly patients and are part of the Department of Justice's 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.

One case charges Tonya Crowder, 49, Missouri City; Marlene Durham, 55, Humble; and Demetrius Onuaguluchi, 34, Houston; with distribution of a controlled substance and conspiracy to do so in connection with the operation of two pill mill clinics in Houston and a pill mill pharmacy in Conroe. The three allegedly participated in a scheme to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances in exchange for cash to the clinics and the pharmacy. The charges allege Crowder and Durham were the managers of two pill mill clinics that issued prescriptions for over 3.4 million pills to include oxycodone, hydrocodone and carisoprodol. Onuaguluchi was a pharmacist that worked closely with these two clinics and dispensed over 136,000 pills based on prescriptions that Durham and Crowder's clinics issued, according to the charges. The indictment includes a notice of forfeiture of over $80,000 in cash seized from one clinic and one residence and a property connected to the alleged drug diversion.

In a separate matter, Katy residents Princepaul Agbonlahor and Nekewon Konah, both 51; Ginger Ruffin, 46, Conroe; Stephanie Harris, 37, Pearland; and Takiya Caradine, 33, Houston, are charged with health care fraud and conspiracy to do so as well as false statements relating to a health care matter in connection with a $16 million Medicaid fraud scheme. Agbonlahor was the owner of Lahor Behavioral Services LLC and billed Medicaid for mental health services for minors that did not occur, according to the charges. The indictment alleges Lahor counselors, including Ruffin, Konah, Harris and Caradine, created fake visit notes and falsified their timesheets to cover up Agbonlahor's fraudulent Medicaid billing.

As part of the enforcement action, the Texas Strike Force also filed charges in the Southern District of Texas against Marizel Yukee, a 49-year-old nurse practitioner from Las Vegas, Nevada, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and offering, paying, soliciting and receiving illegal health care kickbacks. She is also charged with transactional money laundering, all in connection with an alleged $906 million scheme to defraud Medicare and TRICARE by billing for medically unnecessary amniotic wound allografts that were procured through illegal kickbacks and bribes. The indictment alleges Yukee, through four mobile wound clinics she owned in four different states, targeted elderly Medicare patients, many of whom were terminally ill in hospice care. The scheme allegedly caused unnecessary and expensive allografts to be applied to these vulnerable patients' wounds without attempting, completing or confirming conservative wound care treatment. Yukee caused allografts to be applied to infected wounds, to wounds that had already healed and to wounds that were not responding to the allografts, according to the charges. Yukee also allegedly falsified patient medical records to make it appear as though applications of allografts were medically reasonable and necessary and met Medicare requirements. The charges further allege Yukee caused kickbacks to be paid to induce patient referrals and solicited kickbacks in exchange for purchasing allografts. In total, Yukee allegedly caused approximately $906 million in false and fraudulent claims to be billed to Medicare and TRICARE, of which approximately $297 million was paid. Assets valued at approximately $35.2 million were seized as part of this investigation, including $467,000, a $594,000 Ferrari 296 GTS and seven other vehicles, and jewelry including a Bulgari necklace purchased for $865,000.

The SDTX worked with the Department's Health Care Fraud Unit of the Fraud Division and FBI, Texas Attorney General's Office - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to investigate and prosecute the cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Olson and Alexander Alum are prosecuting the SDTX matters, while Trial attorney Adam Tisdall is handling the Yukee prosecution. SDTX AUSAs Tyler Foster, Kristine Rollinson and Elizabeth Wyman are handling asset forfeiture in the various cases.

The overall charges are part of a strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death. The takedown represents a new era in federal, state and international cooperation to combat health care fraud: cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories with 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participating, the most in Department history. In addition, unprecedented international cooperation over the two-week takedown resulted in the apprehension and return to the United States of the following health care fraudsters: one defendant in Kyrenia in connection with an over $3.7 billion scheme; two defendants in Estonia in connection with a previously charged $10.6 billion scheme; and, in the Philippines, one of FBI's Most Wanted Fraudsters in connection with a previously-charged $1.2 billion telemedicine fraud scheme. The takedown involves the cutting-edge use of data analytics to target the worst actors; the seizure of over $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry and other assets; and full-spectrum accountability for all criminal actors from doctor's offices to corporate boardrooms.

This coordinated enforcement action involves a whole-of-government approach, including:

• Actions by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to suspend 1,079 providers and revoke billing privileges for 1,403 providers.
• 48 civil monetary payment settlements amounting to over $73 million, over 1,400 provider exclusions and 25 DHHS-OIG actions under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law seeking more than $10 billion in payments to the Medicare Trust Fund from payments that CMS caught and suspended before the funds were paid to the fraudulent providers.
• Civil charges against 13 defendants for $14.8 million in health care fraud schemes as well as civil settlements with 31 defendants totaling $23 million.
• 928 administrative cases by the Drug Enforcement Administration seeking the revocation of authority to handle and/or prescribe controlled substances since Oct. 1, 2025.

Descriptions of each case involved in the nationwide enforcement action are available on the Department's website.

The cases are being prosecuted by the Health Care Fraud Unit's National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, New England, Northeast, Texas, and West Coast Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys' Offices for the Middle District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Southern District of California, District of Colorado, District of Connecticut, District of Delaware, Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, District of Hawaii, District of Idaho, Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, District of Massachusetts, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of Nebraska, District of New Hampshire, District of New Jersey, District of New Mexico, Eastern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina, Northern District of Ohio, Northern District of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Oregon, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania, District of Puerto Rico, District of Rhode Island, District of South Carolina, District of South Dakota, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee, Northern District of Texas, SDTX, Western District of Texas, District of Vermont, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Western District of Wisconsin; and State Attorneys General's Offices, through their MFCUs, in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia. The MFCUs for Alabama, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virigina also participated in the investigation of the various federal cases.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse within federal benefit programs.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.