Ohio
Ohio governor announces new Medicaid fraud prevention initiatives
COLUMBUS — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that he is implementing several new fraud prevention initiatives to strengthen and build-upon long-standing efforts to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in the Ohio Medicaid system.
“Ohio has long been a national leader in fighting Medicaid fraud. Ohio has one of the best Medicaid Fraud Control units in the country, and, in 2018, Ohio became the first state to implement Electronic Visit Verification in home health care,” DeWine said.
“Today, we are ready to begin several new initiatives long in development that will enhance this nation-leading work and further protect taxpayer funds from those trying to defraud the State.
“I thank the Trump Administration for their partnership and collaboration that is allowing us to proceed with these reforms much faster than previously possible.”
New initiatives
DeWine said he is directing the Ohio Department of Medicaid to implement the following:
- Statewide New Provider Moratorium. The Ohio Department of Medicaid will today ask the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) so Ohio may implement a six-month moratorium on new home-healthcare and hospice businesses being able to become Medicaid providers. This will allow Ohio Medicaid to stop enrollment of new providers and assess existing providers to help remove those at high risk for having committed fraud.
- Immediate Payment Suspension to High-Risk Providers. Ohio Medicaid will today begin a policy of immediately removing and suspending payment to providers whose billing practices show “red flags” that indicate a high probability of fraud. Ohio Medicaid already has a robust payment suspension protocol that is currently used to stop payments to questionable providers. In January, Ohio Medicaid began the process of implementing new data analytics tools to help identify billing data anomalies that could better identify fraud. To date, this process has identified 87 providers who will be subject to further review and potential payment suspension.
- Executive Order for Emergency Rules. The Governor will be issuing an Executive Order that will allow the Ohio Department of Medicaid to implement emergency rules to require more frequent revalidation of providers being identified as higher-risk for committing fraud. Governor DeWine sent a letter to CMS on May 1 committing Ohio to partnering with the Trump Administration and using a more stringent revalidation process to better prevent fraud.
- Mandatory GPS Requirement for Electronic Visit Verification. Ohio Medicaid will file rules to require GPS for all providers using Electronic Visit Verification (EVV). Since March 2025, Ohio Medicaid has begun phasing in EVV as a mandatory requirement for home healthcare provider payment. In December, DeWine authorized Ohio Medicaid to begin the information technology investments needed to make GPS mandatory for EVV. Ohio Medicaid now ready to make this rule change to implement the requirement. Ohio Medicaid has worked collaboratively with Ohio Auditor Keith Faber on identifying solutions to issues identified in the Auditor’s audits of Ohio Medicaid, and this new rule will implement a key recommendation of the audits.
- Mandatory EVV for Live-In Caregivers. Ohio Medicaid will begin the rulemaking process to require live-in caregivers to use EVV during home healthcare and as a requirement for payment. Currently, family and live-in caregivers are exempt from this requirement.
Ohio’s work in prosecuting Medicaid fraud
Ohio has been a national leader in catching and prosecuting Medicaid fraud thanks to a strong partnership between Ohio Medicaid and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the governor said.
Since the beginning of 2023, Ohio has secured 444 Medicaid fraud indictments, 481 convictions, and 146 civil settlements and judgments resulting in $78.4 million in recovered taxpayer fund.
Under Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, the unit received a U.S. Office of the Inspector General’s Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in 2022, and it ranked #1 in the nation for number of convictions secured in 2015 under then-Attorney General Mike DeWine.
Utilizing home healthcare to protect taxpayer dollars
Home and community-based care programs have been a core component of Medicaid services for decades since they were initiated under Ronald Reagan’s Administration.
Ohio is one of 47 states and the District of Columbia that provides such care under a waiver granted by CMS.
Ohio’s home and community-based care programs are grounded in data showing that legitimate in-home care is typically safer for individuals and significantly more affordable for taxpayers.
In 2024, Ohio saved more than $600 million in taxpayer funds that would have been expended had patients receiving home healthcare been diverted to skilled nursing or other residential care services, saving several billion dollars over the course of the DeWine Administration.
On average, home health care costs half as much as placement in a nursing facility.
Ensuring access to appropriate home-based care is both a responsible use of public resources and a critical part of meeting the needs of our most vulnerable Ohioans who otherwise would require placement in higher-cost nursing facilities.
Additional efforts to fight fraud, waste & abuse
Providing care in a home setting requires a robust set of controls to detect and prevent fraud.
Ohio Medicaid has been proactively evaluating all program integrity initiatives to ensure taxpayer dollars are well spent and that quality care is being provided.
The governor’s office said the department has been engaged in a thorough review of programs and policies to evaluate any risks to the integrity of the program, identify potential gaps that could be exploited, and explore opportunities to leverage new and emerging AI and data analytic tools to stay one step ahead of anyone looking to exploit the system.
As part of that work, since the start of 2026, the Department has initiated new prior authorization requirements for high-risk services to ensure medical necessity.
Ohio Medicaid launched efforts to build new data analytic capabilities to identify unique outliers in billing patterns, better assess vulnerable business ownership structures, and improve coordination of fraud fighting efforts.
These efforts are designed to improve the early detection of potential fraud and identify future areas of inherent program risk.
To confirm that billed services are actually rendered, Ohio Medicaid relies on an extensive set of safeguards, including:
- Comprehensive provider screening and continuous compliance monitoring.
- Mandatory electronic visit verification capturing date, time, and service location.
- Advanced analytics that flag unusual billing patterns or service trends.
- Routine and targeted audits performed by program integrity staff.
- Coordination with state and federal partners when concerns arise.
Ohio
Ohio Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 Midday winning numbers for June 13, 2026
The Ohio Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 13, 2026, results for each game:
Powerball
Powerball drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.
03-13-44-50-53, Powerball: 02, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 9-4-8
Evening: 8-4-3
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 9-3-7-1
Evening: 6-5-7-2
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.
Midday: 2-2-3-5-5
Evening: 4-3-3-5-0
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Rolling Cash 5
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 7:05 p.m.
04-07-19-21-28
Check Rolling Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Classic Lotto
Drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, at approximately 7:05 p.m.
02-09-20-26-36-38, Kicker: 1-0-8-1-1-3
Check Classic Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 11:15 p.m.
03-05-11-13-49, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Enquirer digital news director. You can send feedback using this form.
Ohio
2 women wanted in Maryland for murder of suspect’s mother arrested in Ohio following tip: Police – WTOP News
(MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md.) — Two women wanted in Maryland for allegedly killing the mother of one of the suspects were…
(MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md.) — Two women wanted in Maryland for allegedly killing the mother of one of the suspects were captured in Ohio after an individual who offered to help them realized from media coverage that they were wanted for murder, authorities said.
The arrests came nearly three weeks after the victim, 67-year-old Hilde Henderson, is believed to have been killed at her apartment at a senior living community in Silver Spring, Maryland, authorities said.
Officers conducting a welfare check on May 26 found Henderson dead from blunt force trauma, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. She is believed to have been dead for four days, police said.
The victim’s daughter, 29-year-old Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson of Clarksburg, and the daughter’s girlfriend, 36-year-old Samantha Raebel of Phoenix, were subsequently identified as suspects in the homicide, police said. Police obtained an arrest warrant charging them both with first-degree murder and released their photos amid the search for the suspects.
Following a nationwide search, the two were ultimately arrested Wednesday in Genoa, Ohio, thanks to a local tip, police said.
A woman in Genoa unwittingly offered to help the couple, until she and her friend grew suspicious and learned of the ongoing manhunt by searching one of their names online, according to ABC Toledo affiliate WTVG.
Adrienne Behrman told WTVG that the suspects came into her workplace and told her they were homeless, so she offered to help and invited them to stay at her apartment.
“I’ve been down and out myself — homeless, without money, you know, just not wanting to be a charity case or anything like that, and I just felt like I was led to help them,” Behrman told the station.
Behrman recounted, though, that the more questions she asked them about where they were from and where they wanted to go, “things were not adding up.”
She told her concerns to a friend, Nikki Peters, who said she noticed that the last name of one of the suspects from a Cash App payment request for cigarettes didn’t match the name she had been told, WTVG reported.
“That didn’t make sense to me, because it was still Vanessa, but a different last name,” Peters told WTVG.
While searching Tjongarero-Henderson’s name online, Peters said she found wanted posts for the two women, WTVG reported.
“I almost passed out,” Peters told the station. “[Behrman] was cool, calm and collected, but I almost passed out.”
“That didn’t make sense to me, because it was still Vanessa, but a different last name,” Peters told WTVG.
While searching Tjongarero-Henderson’s name online, Peters said she found wanted posts for the two women, WTVG reported.
“I almost passed out,” Peters told the station. “[Behrman] was cool, calm and collected, but I almost passed out.”
Behrman said she called 911, WTVG reported.
“That orchestrated the whole thing the way that it needed to be done in order for them to be apprehended and no one else to be hurt,” Behrman told the station.
Tjongarero-Henderson and Raebel are being held at the Ottawa County Detention Center awaiting extradition to Maryland, authorities said.
Police have not released details on what evidence led them to identify the couple as suspects in the case.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Ohio
Ohio police chief indicted on 70 sex-related charges, arrested in Florida
West Palm Beach, Fla (CBS12) — Bethel, Ohio, Police Chief Chad Essert was arrested in Florida on Thursday after a Clermont County grand jury indicted him on 70 felony sex-related charges involving allegations from more than 15 years ago, authorities said.
Essert, 44, of Blanchester, was taken into custody without incident at 7:06 p.m. June 11 by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Investigations Section in Seminole, Florida, according to the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. He was transported to the Pinellas County Jail, where he remained incarcerated while awaiting extradition back to Clermont County.
The indictment, also announced June 11, includes 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. All 70 charges are third-degree felonies.
If convicted on all counts, Essert could face a maximum sentence of 280 years in prison, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said the alleged offenses occurred between 2005 and 2010, when Essert was an instructor with the Young Marines and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks in Sharonville. The victim was a student of Essert’s during that period, according to investigators.
The sheriff’s office said the alleged offenses occurred at multiple locations in Clermont and Hamilton counties.
See also: Delray Beach businessman accused of selling counterfeit designer bags again
Officials said the indictment is separate from and unrelated to an earlier investigation involving Essert that had been reported by local media.
“It takes tremendous courage for a victim to come forward, especially when the accused wears a badge and holds a position of authority,” Clermont County Sheriff Chris Stratton said in a statement. “Today’s indictment demonstrates that no one is above the law. Every victim deserves to be heard, and every allegation will be thoroughly investigated and pursued in accordance with the law.”
Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said the case reflected cooperation between his office and the sheriff’s office.
“This investigation is a perfect example of how victims are protected and served regardless of the name or title of the perpetrator,” Tekulve said. “The Prosecutor’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office worked seamlessly in this effort.”
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who believes they may have been a victim of similar conduct to contact law enforcement. Officials said information from victims and witnesses may assist the ongoing investigation.
Questions about the indictment or investigation should be directed to the Clermont County Prosecutor’s Office at 513-732-7313.
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Louisiana Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for June 13, 2026
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