Ezekiel O. Akande, 58, of Somerset, is currently serving a five-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him at trial in March for Medicaid fraud, a Class D felony, and theft by unlawful taking over $10,000, a Class C felony.
Akande was sentenced April 21, 2017, to five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $10,000 in restitution.
Akande filed the motion for shock probation June 1, 2017, requesting that the Pulaski Circuit Court suspend further execution of his five-year prison sentence. Pulaski Circuit Judge David A. Tapp overruled Akande’s motion July 12, 2017.
As a result, Akande will remain in custody.
Akande, who operated Somerset Regional Pain Center LLC, stood trial for receiving payment from Kentucky’s Medicaid Program for tobacco cessation counseling he did not perform.
Beshear’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse handled the prosecution of the case and alleged that Akande billed for counseling where the patient was a nonsmoker or a smoker who did not desire to quit smoking.
Akande is appealing the conviction.
The Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse and the Department of Criminal Investigations, as well as the Cabinet for Health and Family Services Office of the Inspector General and Department of Medicaid Services, Program Integrity Unit and the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Task Force (AHIDTA) investigated this case.
The Attorney General’s tip line for reporting allegations of Medicaid provider fraud is 502-696-5405.