Kentucky residents, companies indicted over millions of dollars in Medicaid fraud
Five Louisville residents and two addiction treatment companies are facing a myriad of Medicaid fraud charges after the federal government found the group allegedly billed more than $11 million for fraudulent services.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced criminal charges in four cases against seven Louisville defendants Wednesday, as part of the Justice Department’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown.
The charges stem from an alleged scheme tied to Medicaid and Medicare billing fraud, identity theft, misuse of a Drug Enforcement Administration number, false healthcare statements, and obtaining controlled substances by fraud. In total, the defendants amassed more than $10 million from federal taxpayer dollars.
Angela Renfro, 57, Brianna Gosnell, 35, KLF Company LLC, and Freedom Center LLC were charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and healthcare fraud for billing for services that were unauthorized or not provided, the FBI said in a press release.
In total, the women and companies submitted about $11.05 million in unauthorized claims and were paid about $10.74 million by Medicaid.
The indictment states Renfro and Gosnell used providers’ National Provider Identifiers to bill through the two companies for peer support and psychoeducation services that were either fraudulent or not provided at all. NPIs are identifiers for medical professionals.
Peer support and psychoeducation services are a lucrative billing code that can be abused by addiction treatment providers to bill in excess. In a separate investigation by the Herald-Leader and ProPublica, Addiction Recovery Care, formerly the state’s largest provider, billed the state over $400 million for psychoeducation and peer support, earning the company more than $125 million between 2019 and 2024. It equated to about a quarter of all reimbursements paid to Kentucky providers during that time.
Addiction Recovery Care was not part of the recent takedown operation, but has been under investigation for Medicaid fraud by the FBI since 2024.
Renfro and Gosnell were charged with aggravated identity theft for using nurses’ numbers without their knowledge or permission.
Other indictments
In addition to Renfro and Gosnell, Louisville doctor Christian Berkhahn, 51, was charged with conspiracy to obtain controlled substances by fraud or deceit by using his DEA number to order controlled substances in others’ names, according to the FBI.
In one instance, Berkhahn prescribed Cotempla, a schedule II controlled substance, in an employee’s child’s name and asked them to pick up the prescription and return it to him, according to the indictment.
Additionally, Berkhahn prescribed Oxycodone in the name of another individual — who was not named — knowing that someone else was going to get the prescription.
A Florida man operating out of Louisville, Einar Serrano Reyes, 35, was charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud and aggravated identify theft by allegedly billing for services that were not rendered, resulting in $315,050 in false claims to Medicare.
Reyes signed a lease for a building in Louisville for JL Serenity Center and credentialed the center to bill for medical services. Reyes hired a doctor to oversee medical treatment but ultimately used the doctor’s credentials to bill Medicare services that were not provided to a single patient, federal prosecutors say.
Meredith Douglass, 38, of Louisville, was indicted with theft of medical products, making false statements related to healthcare matters and acquiring and attempting to acquire controlled substances by misrepresentation.
“Every dollar stolen from Kentucky’s Medicaid system is a dollar taken from someone in need. Our Office is proud to work with the outstanding U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Kentucky, Kyle Bumgarner and other federal partners in holding fraudsters accountable for stealing your tax dollars,” said Attorney General Russell Coleman. “We’re laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who take advantage of the vital Medicaid program and defraud our Commonwealth.”
The federal takedown operation resulted in charges against 455 defendants including doctors and other licensed medical professionals across 56 federal districts, according to the FBI. The investigation showed more than $6.5 billion worth of fraudulent Medicaid claims nationwide.
