Okla. Man Charged With Defrauding 8

A Claremore, Okla., man is facing nine felony counts of caretaker exploitation after an investigation by Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s Patient Abuse and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Mark Neil Ferris, 49, was charged today in Tulsa County District Court. Ferris is the former administrator of Tulsa’s Green Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The state’s complaint alleges Ferris illegally took $5,389.39 from the trust funds of eight residents between Nov. 1, 2004, and Jan. 12, 2006.

“This case came to our attention when the new administrator at Green Park noticed discrepancies in the trust fund accounts,” Edmondson said. “It appears Mark Ferris wrote checks on the accounts unnecessarily, and then the money just disappeared. To cover his tracks, he transferred money from other residents’ accounts.”

If convicted, Ferris could face up to ten years imprisonment and up to $10,000 in fines for each count against him.

Edmondson’s Patient Abuse and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has statewide jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute provider fraud and patient abuse and neglect in any Medicaid provider facility. Anyone with information regarding provider fraud or patient abuse can contact the Attorney General’s Office at (405) 521-4274 or (918) 581-2885.

Source: Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office