Harrisburg, PA.- Since Dave Sunday took office as Pennsylvania Attorney General, his office has made fraud involving Medicaid, Medicare, home-care services, and EBT cards one of its principal criminal-enforcement priorities.
The strategy combines financial investigations, specialized prosecutors, state agents, and cooperation with the FBI and the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, known as HHS-OIG.
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The result is a focused crackdown on those who turn programs intended for low-income, sick, elderly, or dependent individuals into sources of personal enrichment.
More Than $41 Million Recovered
During federal fiscal year 2025, Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit reported recovering more than $41 million in misused funds. The unit filed charges in 115 cases and secured 115 convictions.
According to an official report from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, HHS-OIG ranked Pennsylvania’s unit first in the nation for criminal convictions and third in the number of charges filed against individuals who defrauded the Medicaid program.
In presenting his first-year record, Sunday also reported that the unit had secured convictions against 120 people for Medicaid-related fraud, abuse, neglect, and criminal waste. He further reported that more than $40 million in restitution had been ordered and that the unit had approximately 550 active investigations and cases.
The scale of these results reflects a clearly defined priority: pursuing both the direct theft of public funds and practices that endanger beneficiaries’ lives and health.
Philadelphia Pharmacy Ordered to Pay $2.3 Million
One of the most significant cases during the Sunday administration involved Surnil Pharmacy, which primarily operated under the name Haussemann’s Pharmacy.
The pharmacy was accused of distributing HIV medications obtained outside authorized channels and billing Medicaid and Medicare for reimbursements as though the products had been purchased from legitimate distributors.
The investigation identified approximately 100,000 HIV medication tablets that lacked documentation showing they had been purchased through authorized suppliers.
In October 2025, the company pleaded guilty and paid $2.3 million in court-ordered restitution. Its owner, Subhash Patel, was excluded from the Medicaid and Medicare programs for at least five years, and his pharmacist’s license was suspended for the same period.
The investigation was conducted jointly by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and HHS-OIG, according to documents in the Surnil Pharmacy case.
The case demonstrated that the Attorney General’s Office is not only pursuing false billing. It is also intervening when a provider’s conduct threatens the safety of medications intended for vulnerable patients.
The $12 Million Scheme at Another Pharmacy
The Sunday administration also brought those responsible for a more than $12 million scheme at Broad Street Family Pharmacy in South Philadelphia to justice.
The pharmacy billed Medicaid and Medicare for expensive medications that, according to investigators, were largely never acquired or distributed to patients. The products included the antipsychotic medication Latuda and high-reimbursement HIV medications.
Peter Dello Buono, who managed the pharmacy’s daily operations, was sentenced to two to five years in prison. Frank Bengermino, the pharmacy’s in-store pharmacist, was sentenced to one and a half to five years.
Seven employees and associates also pleaded guilty. The court ordered more than $12 million in restitution, including $12.25 million for which Dello Buono and Elizabeth Thompson, the pharmacy’s owner, were held responsible.
The investigation also documented illegal payments to consumers who returned medications in exchange for cash or other products, according to documents in the Broad Street Pharmacy case.
$1.76 Million in Fictitious Care Hours
The Sunday administration has also pursued home-care agencies that submitted claims for services that were never provided.
In Montgomery County, ComfortZone Home Health Care was linked to a $1.76 million scheme involving false claims. The Attorney General’s Office accused those responsible of assigning fictitious caregivers, approving kickback arrangements, and submitting bills to Medicaid for services that did not exist.
Stephanie Mobley, the agency’s owner, was sentenced to 17 months to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.76 million in restitution.
Her daughter, Naya Campbell, the company’s chief executive officer, was also sentenced to prison. The joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the FBI led to charges against 20 people and the company. By the time Mobley’s sentence was announced, all but one of the defendants had pleaded guilty in connection with the ComfortZone case.
The Attorney General’s response showed that the fraud was not an isolated irregularity, but rather a scheme that used an entire company to divert funds intended for people who relied on daily assistance.
Agency Falsified Records and Endangered Residents
In Erie County, Tina Bell, the owner and administrator of Superior Health, was sentenced in September 2026 for Medicaid fraud and for endangering vulnerable people under her agency’s care.
Bell received a sentence of 11 to 23 months in prison, six years of probation, and an order to pay more than $1.8 million in restitution.
The Attorney General’s Office established that she billed Medicaid for services that were never provided and falsified caregivers’ qualifications. Many of the residents depended on wheelchairs.
During an audit, Bell allegedly falsified records to conceal staff shortages, the absence of mandatory training, and deficiencies in employee health screenings. She also created false medical and financial documentation to support fraudulent payment claims.
Bell pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud, tampering with public records, and neglect of a care-dependent person. She also lost her nursing license and was barred from participating as a Medicaid provider, according to details from the Superior Health case.
Unlicensed Medical Professional Treated Patients
Another case prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office involved Adam Herman, who presented himself as a physician, nurse, and certified medical professional despite having no license or medical training.
Herman treated patients at least nine personal-care homes and assisted-living facilities in Carbon County. He prescribed medications, performed blood draws and injections, and used a physician’s identity to obtain reimbursements from Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance companies.
Some patients received incorrect diagnoses and diabetes medication even though they did not have diabetes. Herman pleaded no contest to 17 felony counts and one misdemeanor, including Medicaid fraud, insurance fraud, theft by deception, identity theft, practicing medicine without a license, and neglect of care-dependent people.
In April 2026, he was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $104,000 in restitution. The Adam Herman case was investigated by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and HHS-OIG.
The $178,289 EBT Card Scheme
The protection of vulnerable residents’ funds also extended to the food-benefits system.
In January 2026, the Organized Retail Crime Unit charged two Pittsburgh business owners with operating a $178,289 scheme involving EBT cards.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Rachna Anwar and Munir Chaudhri purchased EBT cards at a discount from people who received the benefits. They then used the cards to purchase food at Sam’s Club and other retailers and resold the products through a restaurant and a delicatessen.
The investigation identified more than 800 transactions involving approximately 450 cards. The purchases included beef, chicken, bread, water, soft drinks, and other beverages.
The defendants face charges of corrupt organizations and dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activity. The case remains pending, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Fraud as a Crime Against People, Not Just Programs
The cases pursued by the Sunday administration reveal a defined enforcement pattern against providers who distribute unregulated medications; pharmacies that seek payment for products they never purchased or delivered; agencies that report fictitious care hours; administrators who falsify records; unlicensed individuals who diagnose, medicate, and treat patients; and businesses that turn EBT cards into operating capital.
Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit operates through three regional offices and receives federal funding from HHS in addition to state funding. Its responsibilities include investigating fraud, abuse, neglect, and the financial exploitation of older adults and care-dependent people.
Under Dave Sunday’s leadership, that structure has become a highly visible criminal-enforcement tool. Recovering money is one part of the result. The other is preventing people who depend on medical care, food assistance, or daily support from being used as instruments to defraud the state.
In the cases reviewed, the Attorney General’s Office has combined restitution, imprisonment, provider exclusions, license suspensions, neglect charges, and federal cooperation.
The administration’s message is direct: Medicaid, Medicare, and EBT benefits are not available for the enrichment of providers, caregivers, pharmacists, or business owners. They are resources intended for people who depend on them to survive, obtain food, and receive medical care.
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