Bernice Marie Pate, 51, of Inkster, was arraigned in the 54B District Court in East Lansing for allegedly exploiting a Medicaid transportation program.
Pate has been charged with 10 counts of Medicaid fraud – false claim, each a four-year felony.
Earlier this week, Wanda Rose Spivey, 55, of Taylor, and Ashley Eliza Mendoza, 34, of Detroit, were arraigned in the 54B District Court for allegedly defrauding the same program.
Spivey and Mendoza each face 5 counts of Medicaid fraud – false claim.
Court documents revealed the Michigan Medicaid program will provide mileage reimbursement to enrolled beneficiaries when they travel to eligible medical appointments.
In some cases, a smartphone app is made available to track mileage to these appointments using the built-in GPS of the phone.
When a trip is complete, the reimbursement payment is added to a payment card mailed to the beneficiary when they register for this program.
The card can then be used like any debit card.
It is alleged that the defendants participated in a scheme where another app was used to effectively trick a phone into thinking it was someplace it was not, and submitted reimbursement requests for trips that never took place.
This matter was referred to the Department of Attorney General by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (DHHS-OIG).
Spivey and Mendoza were arraigned on October 6, 2025, before Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt.
Pate was arraigned on Oct. 8, 2025, also before Judge Greenwalt.
They were all granted a $50,000.00 personal recognizance bond and are next due to appear in court on Oct. 17, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. for a Probable Cause Conference followed by a Preliminary Examination on Oct. 23, 2025, at 9 a.m.
The Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD) handled this case for the Department.
The HCFD is the federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for Michigan, and it receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,517,524.00 for the fiscal year 2026.
The remaining 25%, totaling $1,839,170.00, is funded by the State of Michigan.