COLORADO SPRINGS — A Colorado Springs man who pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud in October has been sentenced to eight years of probation, according to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Gulong Craft, who is 57 years old, acquired more than $120,000 through falsified medical billing between 2020 and 2023. Weiser says he was ordered to pay the money as restitution.
Last year, investigators with the Colorado Department of Law received a referral from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) related to Craft.
HCPF alerted Weiser's office of the illegal billing by Craft's company, Craft Care LLC. The company was enrolled with HCPF to provide care for patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
An investigation found Craft had a suspicious number of denied claims, according to Weiser. These denied claims continued for years, and investigators determined it was likely due to intentional fraud and not unintentional errors.
According to Weiser, Craft billed for services long after he stopped providing care for patients. Weiser also says Craft didn't keep records, which is required by HCPF.
Weiser released the following statement regarding this incident:
“The biggest victims of Medicaid fraud are usually low-income patients who lean on Medicaid for critical health care services. In this case, the defendant’s crimes exploited people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We will remain vigilant in our commitment to protecting Medicaid patients and taxpayers, holding providers who break the law accountable, and recovering fraudulent payments.”
___
Highway 96 closed in Custer County Sunday night after rock slide
A rock slide forced the closure of a Colorado highway in Custer County Sunday night.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
