Doctor gets 5 years in prison for fraudulent Medicaid billing
MASON, Mich. (AP) — A Saginaw doctor who pleaded guilty to charges that he filed fraudulent claims with the Medicaid program has been sentenced to five years of probation.
The Michigan attorney general’s office says 57-year-old Chidozie Ononuju was given the punishment on Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court. He earlier pleaded to three felony counts.
As part of the plea agreement, the attorney general’s says he repaid more than $400,000 to the Medicaid program. He also will no longer be able to write prescriptions for controlled substances.
The attorney general’s Health Care Fraud Division first received a complaint that the doctor of osteopathic medicine was filing fraudulent claims with the Medicaid program from 2010-2015. Investigators say the fraudulent billings were at his two Saginaw clinics.
Michigan GOP elector launches website urging vote for Trump
DETROIT (AP) — A Republican member of the Electoral College from Michigan has created a website urging Donald Trump supporters to rally electors around the president-elect amid a flurry of anti-Trump lobbying.
Brian Fairbrother, deputy clerk for the Detroit suburb of Shelby Township, launched ElectorsforTrump.com this week. The Trump supporter said he and fellow electors have been deluged with missives from people urging votes for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton or another Republican.
Fairbrother told The Associated Press he’s received “thousands” of emails and letters, as have other electors.
“Some Republican electors’ support for Mr. Trump may be wavering,” he said late Tuesday by email. “It’s imperative for conservatives, Republicans and even independents ... who support Mr. Trump to remind our Republican electors they have our full support.”
Electors convene Dec. 19 in state capitals across the country to vote for president.
Michigan law mandates its 16 electors to vote according to the results of the state’s presidential election, which Trump won by .2 percentage points. If a Michigan elector doesn’t vote for that person, they are deemed to have resigned and are replaced.
Texas elector Chris Suprun said Monday that he won’t cast one of his state’s 38 electoral votes for Donald Trump because his role is “to elect a president, not a king.” The Dallas paramedic previously indicated he would support Trump. But he changed his mind, citing the president-elect’s postelection attacks on the First Amendment and the country’s electoral process, as well as the billionaire businessman’s continued promotion of his brand and business interests overseas.
Another Texas Republican elector, Art Sisneros, resigned last week rather than vote for Trump. Electors will vote to replace him.
For his part, Fairbrother said he voted for another candidate in the primary election whom he declined to identify, but switched his support to Trump in the general election. He also supports keeping the Electoral College system as it is.
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