KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES GUILTY VERDICT AGAINST FORMER OWNER OF FLOYD AND JOHNSON COUNTY EYE CARE CENTERS INVOLVING MEDICAID FRAUD CHARGES
THE KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL, RUSSELL COLEMAN, (PHOTO FAR LEFT); ANNOUNCED VIA HIS OFFICE ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, THAT CRIMINAL JURY IN FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY.. HAD CONVICTED MARCUS S. MINIX SR., (PHOTO FAR RIGHT); 73, OF LEXINGTON, KY., OF MEDICAID FRAUD AND THEFT, INVOLVING TWO EYE CARE CENTERS HE FORMERLY OWNED IN JOHNSON COUNTY AND FLOYD COUNTY.
On Wednesday, April 3, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced that a Lexington, KY., man who owned a pair of eye care centers in Floyd and Johnson counties has been convicted by a Franklin County, KY. Circuit Court criminal jury on charges of fraud and theft.
According to a statement from KY. A.G. Coleman’s office, the conviction of Marcus S. Minix Sr., 73, came about as a result of an investigation by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Control Unit. Minix, the statement said, was convicted of one count of Class D felony theft and a Class D felony charge of devising or engaging in a scheme to defraud the Kentucky Medical Assistance Program. Both are punishable by one to up to five years in prison each.
Marcus Minix, the Attorney General Office’s statement said, owned and operated two connected eye care centers, one each in Floyd County and Johnson County, where he submitted false billings for services that were never provided. Over a dozen victimized patients could not receive proper eye care because of his criminal activity, according to the statement. Several of his victims were children, including one of whom was legally blind in one eye and had delays getting glasses, the statement said.
“The defendant did more than defraud the Medicaid program; he cheated Kentucky families and children out of critical medical care just to make a quick buck,” said Attorney General Russell Coleman. “These are serious crimes, and our team will continue to investigate and prosecute them so we can protect Kentucky families.”
The case was investigated by Detective Tim Dials and auditor Michael Ward with the Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control. Deputy Director David Startsman as well as assistant attorneys general Linsey Hogg and Zach Ousley prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Marcus Minix is scheduled to return to Franklin Circuit Court on Friday, April 19.
The Attorney General’s Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under a grant award totaling $6,650,000 for the federal fiscal year (FY) 2024. 25 percent of that grant, totaling $1,662,500 for FY 2024, is funded by the state of Kentucky.
To file a Medicaid fraud or abuse complaint, call the Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Hotline at, 1-877-ABUSE TIP (1-877-228-7384).
