Mikia Antoneice Noble, co-owner and COO of Advancing Communities Everywhere, a mental health provider in the Richmond, Va., area, was arrested Oct. 28 on federal charges alleging the company billed Virginia Medicaid more than $49 million for crisis services it did not deliver as billed.
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned the indictment Oct. 20. Ms. Noble, 37, of North Chesterfield, Va., faces one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and three counts of healthcare fraud. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, according to an Oct. 28 news release from the Department of Justice.
Advancing Communities Everywhere, known as ACE, claimed to serve people in acute or significant behavioral health crises. Ms. Noble also claimed to work as a mental health professional for ACE. She allegedly helped submit the false claims from January 2022 through April 2026.
Prosecutors allege Ms. Noble and her co-owner billed Medicaid for crisis services purportedly delivered by teams that included a licensed professional, when a single lower-level mental health professional actually provided the care. The co-owners also allegedly spent more than $2 million on hotel rooms for Medicaid beneficiaries to induce them to let ACE bill for services they did not need.
The indictment further alleges the pair added licensed professionals’ signatures to medical records for services those professionals never provided. Ms. Noble allegedly signed records claiming she participated in care while she was out of the country. Prosecutors also allege the co-owners lied to Medicaid managed care organizations auditing ACE’s crisis services.
The FBI Richmond Field Office and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Virginia attorney general’s office are investigating. An indictment is an allegation, and Ms. Noble is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants accused of billing over $45 billion since 2007.
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