COLUMBUS — Indictments filed this month by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost accuse nine Medicaid health care providers — including one from the Mahoning Valley — and one recipient of stealing a combined $478,000 from the government health care program for the needy.

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, an arm of Yost’s office, investigated the cases and secured the indictments in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Many of the defendants already have admitted their fraud to authorities, Yost said.

The cases include a provider who made a sweetheart deal with a client and others who billed when traveling or working different jobs.The attorney general issued a warning to any who attempt to bilk the federally funded assistance program.

“This February, remember: Love may be blind, but our investigators see just fine,” Yost said. “If you flirt with fraud, your next date will be with a judge.”

Among those indicted were:

● Tonya Ware, 60, of Warren, allegedly billed for services between May 2024 through June 2025 when traveling in Arizona, Florida, Texas and the Bahamas. The loss to Medicaid totaled $4,072. Ware, a home health aide, is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on charges of Medicaid fraud and theft, both fifth-degree felonies, at 1 p.m. Feb. 23.

● Destiny Allen, 26, of Cleveland, was indicted for Medicaid fraud after investigators determined that $108,983 was improperly paid to her for overbilling from 2023 to 2025. Allen confessed that she inflated her billed hours for services she never provided.

● Cheryl Austin, 53, of East Cleveland, was charged after investigators calculated a loss of $11,025 to Medicaid. The investigation identified numerous dates in which Austin called off work but billed for services. Additionally, video evidence showed that she never visited one of her clients during a 20-day span of billed services. When confronted with the video, Austin responded, “Guilty as charged.”

● Shelmeta Drewery, 38, of Cleveland, allegedly billed for weekends, holidays and other dates she did not work from January 2023 through July 2025. Travel records show she also billed when traveling in Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Puerto Rico. The loss to Medicaid totaled $4,390.

● Dejoire McAlpine, 35, of Strongsville, was indicted for Medicaid fraud and theft after investigators calculated a $6,587 loss to Medicaid. McAlpine routinely billed for six to eight hours of services, but a client reported that she never worked more than four hours per day. Another client told investigators that McAlpine worked only 125 of the 200 hours she billed. McAlpine admitted to billing for services not rendered, claiming that she thought she could make up the hours later.

● Chrishawn McClendon, 38, of Streetsboro, and William Jackson, 40, of Cleveland, allegedly engaged in a kickback scheme that resulted in a $212,339 loss to Medicaid. Records show that McClendon billed Medicaid for more than 1,000 hours of services between August 2022 and November 2025 when she was working another job. An investigation determined that she paid Jackson, her client, more than $45,000 via Cash App during the same period. When confronted by investigators, the pair admitted to the scheme.

Ohio’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which operates within the Health Care Fraud Section, collaborates with federal, state and local partners to root out Medicaid fraud and protect vulnerable adults from harm. The unit investigates and prosecutes health-care providers who defraud the state Medicaid program and enforces the state’s Patient Abuse and Neglect Law.