Former Nursing Home Employee Pleads Guilty to Abuse
OKLAHOMA COUNTY - Former nursing home employee pleads guilty to felony Abuse by Caretaker and two counts of misdemeanor Verbal Abuse by Caretaker.
On June 15, Ronald Ingram of Moore, Oklahoma, pled guilty before Oklahoma County District Judge Heather Coyle and was placed on a deferred sentence probation for three years under the supervision of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. As a condition of his probation, Ingram was ordered to serve 10 consecutive weekends in the Oklahoma County Jail, surrender his nurse aide certification, hold no employment involving care of elderly or vulnerable adults while on probation, and pay $940.00 towards the cost of the investigation to the Office of the Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, $300.00 to the Victim Compensation Fund and the costs of the action.
“Oklahomans will not allow bad actors to abuse their power and harm our most vulnerable citizens,” said Attorney General O’Connor. “My office remains committed to protecting the elderly and vulnerable adults from all forms of abuse.”
The Oklahoma Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) investigation began after a referral was received from the Oklahoma City Police Department regarding the report of potential abuse by caretaker at Reliant Living Center, located at 2901 SE 22nd Street in Oklahoma City.
During the investigation, MFCU agents obtained witness statements and other evidence confirming Ronald Ingram had grabbed a resident who was sitting on the floor in a cafeteria area, dragged the resident by his hoodie across the cafeteria, and dropped him on the other side of the room. The witness statements and other evidence confirmed that, after releasing the resident, Ingram returned twice to confront the resident by yelling and making physical gestures at the resident.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) has statewide jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute violations of state and federal laws pertaining to provider fraud in the administration of the Medicaid program. Additionally, the MFCU pursues and monitors whistleblower litigation both at the Oklahoma level and on a national level in conjunction with other state’s MFCU and U.S. Attorneys offices. The MFCU can recover Medicaid funds by pursuing criminal sanctions, civil judgments, or administrative recoveries. The MFCU also investigates and prosecutes cases of abuse, neglect, drug diversion and financial exploitation involving residents in long term board and care facilities and in residential care settings in some circumstances. In this role, the MFCU serves as a safeguard against caretakers that abuse, neglect, or exploit vulnerable Oklahomans.