Charles McKinley Griffin, Tika Michelle Griffin, and Kirk Nathan Evans, all residents of Lancaster, South Carolina, have been sentenced for their roles in a health care fraud conspiracy involving Medicaid funds.
According to evidence presented in court, Charles Griffin had previously been excluded by the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) from receiving Medicaid payments due to violations such as billing for services not rendered and overlapping services. To circumvent this exclusion, Charles Griffin and his wife Tika Griffin established a company called Transformation Services under Tika’s name. Through this company, they defrauded the State of South Carolina and Medicaid out of nearly $250,000.
Starting in 2019, Tika Griffin applied for her company to bill Medicaid as a provider of behavioral health services. The Griffins then recruited Medicaid beneficiaries through after-school programs and summer camps in Lancaster and Kershaw counties. However, therapists employed by Transformation Services—including Kirk Evans—were not authorized by the state to provide these services. Additionally, employees did not meet individually with children as claimed; instead, they met with groups but billed Medicaid as if each child had received individual sessions over several hours. This led to fraudulent billing for overlapping or nonexistent services.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced both Charles Griffin and Tika Griffin to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Kirk Evans received a sentence of 10 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervision. In addition to prison time, Charles and Tika Griffin were ordered to pay $246,335.12 in restitution to SCDHHS on a joint and several basis. Evans was ordered to pay $152,669.63 in restitution jointly with the Griffins. Federal sentencing does not allow parole.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General along with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Vulnerable Adults and Medicaid Provider Fraud unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott Daniels and Scott Matthews prosecuted the case.
"There is no parole in the federal system."
