A criminal report filed Monday accuses Augustine Ihenacho Nnadi, a Medicaid fraud analyst, of bribery. On February 16, 2014, the 60-year-old Houston man allegedly helped a criminal defendant with an ongoing Medicaid Fraud case in return for $5,000.
FBI agents arrested Nnadi on Monday morning subsequent to the Texas Attorney General’s Office stripping him of his title and employment.
Nnadi is charged with bribery related to programs that receive federal funding. If convicted of the federal charge, he faces 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
Following the arrest, Communications Director for the Office of the Attorney General, Jerry Strickland, said, “The Attorney General’s Office works every day to root out and crack down on illegal activity, wherever it occurs–including public corruption. In this case, we worked with the FBI, the US Attorney’s Office and the Texas Rangers to assist with the investigation and arrest of Augustine Ihenacho Nnadi on criminal charges. In the last 11 years, the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud investigators have been involved in cases that led to the arrest of hundreds of individuals on fraud charges. In addition, our office has prosecuted more than 100 public officials and employees for breaching the public trust. We will continue working with federal, state and local officials to hold public officials and employees accountable.”
The FBI, the Texas Rangers, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and the Office of the Attorney General all worked together on the operation prior to Nnadi’s arrest.
Nnadi’s case comes as a shock to many. Indeed, it is worrisome that Nnadi, whose entire job it was to eliminate fraud and dishonestly, is now the subject of bribery accusations.
Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate
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