FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
February 3, 2016
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Page 1 of 1
AG STRANGE ANNOUNCES SECOND CONVICTION
IN MEDICAID FRAUD, IDENTITY THEFT SCHEME
(MONTGOMERY)–Attorney General Luther Strange announced that Gill Reynolds-
Pridgett, 23, of Cleveland, Ohio, pleaded guilty today in Montgomery County Circuit Court to
defrauding the Alabama Medicaid Agency.
Reynolds-Pridgett was indicted for his role in the filing of numerous false claims for
payment to the Alabama Medicaid Agency, through a scheme involving his possession of the
identifying information of approximately 25 Alabama residents. He has been held at the
Montgomery County Detention Facility since November 8, 2015.
Prosecutors described how Reynolds-Pridgett, along with a co-defendant Darnell Davon
Nash, established a fake business named “Chase Farms Group” and fraudulently obtained status
as an Alabama Medicaid provider. The two then obtained, by deceit, the Medicaid Provider ID
of a north Alabama physician’s office, by stating they ran a crisis center and wanted the
physician’s office to be their medical provider. People in the physician’s office became suspicious
when they attempted to contact Nash, who had used an alias, to inquire about the partnership.
The scheme also involved the distribution of flyers throughout the Birmingham area, which
advertised assistance with obtaining government subsidies. Victims would call the number
provided and give their identifying information. Nash and his co-defendant would then use the
stolen data to bill Medicaid for alleged services provided by the physician’s office.
Reynolds-Pridgett pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid fraud, an unclassified felony,
before Circuit Judge Gregory Griffin. He was sentenced to five years, which was suspended, and
placed on probation. The other defendant, Nash, pleaded guilty in June of 2015 and was
sentenced to four years of incarceration, to run concurrently with a federal 15-year sentence for
unrelated crimes.
“These defendants conducted a shameless scheme of deception and theft, stealing the
identities of innocent victims who were seeking help, and depriving the State of badly-needed
funds to serve some of our more needy citizens,” said Attorney General Strange. “I am pleased
that they have been stopped and are being punished for their crimes.”
Attorney General Strange commended his Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for its steadfast
investigation of this case. He also thanked the Birmingham office of the U.S. Secret Service, the
U.S. Marshals Service, the Ohio Office of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Ohio Attorney
General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, for their valuable assistance.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
