Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday criminal charges against four Michigan individuals as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) National Health Care Fraud Takedown.
The campaign is a nationwide law enforcement action targeting defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud.
“Our Health Care Fraud Division works every single day to protect the hard-earned money of Michiganders from Medicaid fraud,” said Attorney General Nessel. “They do exceptional work delivering for our residents, and these four cases are no exception. We will continue to protect taxpayer dollars and this vital program.”
The four Michigan cases include:
• Wayne White, 63, of Detroit, was charged with three counts of Larceny by Conversion – $20,000 or more, each a 10-year felony, in the 36th District Court in Detroit. Between August 2024 and April 2025, it is alleged White, while working as a part-time community outreach contractor for Detroit Wayne Integrated
Health Network, improperly received more than $234,000 intended for autism services.
• Claudia Payne, 47, of Mt. Pleasant, was charged with five counts of Medicaid Fraud — False Claim, each a 4-year felony in the 54B District Court in East Lansing. It is alleged that Payne was paid by Medicaid to provide caretaking services for an elderly disabled man in Mt. Pleasant between October 2023 and November 2024. Despite receiving payment, Payne allegedly failed to provide these services and left the victim severely neglected.
• Kurt Hammond, 56, of Ann Arbor, was charged with one count of Medicaid Fraud — False Claim in the 54B District Court in East Lansing. Hammond, a pharmacist at Central Pharmacy located in Lansing from 2020 to 2024, allegedly dispensed and billed for a significant number of female condoms that the pharmacy never acquired from any wholesaler.
• John Kempainen, 43, of Oak Park, was charged with six counts of Medicaid Fraud—False Claim in the 54B District Court in East Lansing. Kempainen allegedly billed Medicaid for care he agreed to provide to a vulnerable adult who lived alone in a senior complex in Oak Park. Kempainen reportedly failed to provide any care for her for at least 4 months between February 2026 and June 2026 while living out of state.
These cases are being handled by the Department of Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD). The HCFD is the federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for Michigan, and it receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,517,524.00 for the fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25% percent, totaling $1,839,170.00, is funded by the State of Michigan.
The campaign is a nationwide law enforcement action targeting defendants for their alleged participation in health care fraud.
“Our Health Care Fraud Division works every single day to protect the hard-earned money of Michiganders from Medicaid fraud,” said Attorney General Nessel. “They do exceptional work delivering for our residents, and these four cases are no exception. We will continue to protect taxpayer dollars and this vital program.”
The four Michigan cases include:
• Wayne White, 63, of Detroit, was charged with three counts of Larceny by Conversion – $20,000 or more, each a 10-year felony, in the 36th District Court in Detroit. Between August 2024 and April 2025, it is alleged White, while working as a part-time community outreach contractor for Detroit Wayne Integrated
Health Network, improperly received more than $234,000 intended for autism services.
• Claudia Payne, 47, of Mt. Pleasant, was charged with five counts of Medicaid Fraud — False Claim, each a 4-year felony in the 54B District Court in East Lansing. It is alleged that Payne was paid by Medicaid to provide caretaking services for an elderly disabled man in Mt. Pleasant between October 2023 and November 2024. Despite receiving payment, Payne allegedly failed to provide these services and left the victim severely neglected.
• Kurt Hammond, 56, of Ann Arbor, was charged with one count of Medicaid Fraud — False Claim in the 54B District Court in East Lansing. Hammond, a pharmacist at Central Pharmacy located in Lansing from 2020 to 2024, allegedly dispensed and billed for a significant number of female condoms that the pharmacy never acquired from any wholesaler.
• John Kempainen, 43, of Oak Park, was charged with six counts of Medicaid Fraud—False Claim in the 54B District Court in East Lansing. Kempainen allegedly billed Medicaid for care he agreed to provide to a vulnerable adult who lived alone in a senior complex in Oak Park. Kempainen reportedly failed to provide any care for her for at least 4 months between February 2026 and June 2026 while living out of state.
These cases are being handled by the Department of Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD). The HCFD is the federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for Michigan, and it receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,517,524.00 for the fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25% percent, totaling $1,839,170.00, is funded by the State of Michigan.
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