The Denver Post is finally shining a floodlight on something taxpayers have been screaming about for years: Medicaid fraud with a pulse and a payout. In a piece by Seth Klamann, federal prosecutors have indicted two Coloradans accused of ripping off the state’s Medicaid transportation program, the one that pays drivers to get patients to and from medical appointments.
According to the indictments, Ashley Marie Stevens (Mesa County) and Wesam Yassin (Douglas County) ran separate operations, allegedly fabricating rides for appointments that did not exist and pulling in seven-figure payouts. Prosecutors say Yassin alone collected more than $3.3 million.
The article also gets into how this became a “fraud bonanza” in 2022 and 2023 after reimbursement rates increased, and notes state officials estimate about $25 million was lost in the broader scheme.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Two Coloradans got hit with multiple federal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, and health care fraud, for allegedly gaming the Medicaid ride program. That is not a mistake. That is a business model.
- Prosecutors allege Yassin billed Medicaid $165,000 for driving a patient who was already dead. If that does not make your blood boil, check your pulse.
- Stevens allegedly billed more than $1 million, including rides for herself and family members with very few actual appointments, plus rides for her husband while he was incarcerated. Busy calendar, apparently.
- This scheme exploded after the state increased reimbursement rates. Predictable result: a rush of new drivers and unscrupulous operators who allegedly packed cars with patients and ran long trips across the state. Piñata full of taxpayer dollars, meet your new best friends.
- State officials have described the fraud as international, with reports that some patients were bribed with cash or drugs, and some targeted homeless people for trips to methadone clinics. Compassion turned into a con.
My Bottom Line
Here is the part the soft-handed crowd always skips: a safety net only works if it is a net, not a hammock. I believe in the fundamental premise of social safety net programs, temporary help for truly vulnerable people during a brief time of need. But government does what government does: it bloats, it sprawls, it becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet for grift.
This article is Exhibit A. Not rumors. Not vibes. Indictments. Seven figures. Fake rides. A dead patient getting transported. A husband “going to the doctor” while sitting in jail. You do not accidentally bill like that. You do it because you think nobody is watching, and for too long, nobody was.
And spare me the “we had no idea” routine. Abuse exists in these systems the way mice exist in a leaky old barn. You may not see them every minute, but you know they are there. The difference is whether you tolerate it, or you deal with it.
So yes, there needs to be consequences. Real ones. Prosecute fraud. Seek restitution. Send people to jail when the facts prove they stole from the public. When the scammers learn Colorado is not a soft target, the mice just might flee. Different clowns, same circus. It is time to shut down the circus.
Source: The Denver Post
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