CHARLESTON W.Va. (WVDN) — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has filed a lawsuit against a Parkersburg substance abuse treatment facility on allegations the company filed bogus claims to the state’s Medicaid program.
A former employee of the facility, Clifford Marlowe, also has been indicted by a Wood County grand jury on two felony counts of Medicaid fraud and fraudulent schemes.
The Attorney General made the announcement during a news conference at the Wood County Courthouse Wednesday.
“These are serious allegations and we intend to prosecute this civil action to the fullest extent of the law,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “We will keep working to bring to justice anyone who tries to defraud programs that serve as valuable resources to West Virginians.”
The Attorney General is alleging that Clean & Clear Advantage, LLC—which runs a substance abuse treatment center in Parkersburg—submitted fraudulent claims to the state’s Medicaid program from May 2021 through January 2022.
Those claims were for services allegedly rendered to 52 patients by an unqualified employee, Clifford Marlowe.
The claims totaled $78,889.92—the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is seeking three times that amount in the lawsuit against the facility.
Marlowe did not have the required degree and was not a licensed master-level therapist. He also did not hold a healthcare license from the state.
The Attorney General’s MFCU sent its findings to the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office, whose team secured an indictment in September, charging Marlowe with two felony counts of Medicaid fraud and fraudulent schemes.
Read a copy of Attorney General Morrisey’s civil lawsuit here.
Watch a playback of the Wednesday news conference here.