Two Maryland women and a Virginia woman have been indicted in an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme involving millions of dollars in claims for children’s mental health services, which authorities believe were never given or billed at inflated rates.
A 10-count federal indictment was unsealed Thursday, November 5, 2026, against two executives and a community support worker at Quality Healthcare Services LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based corporation that provides mental health rehabilitation services to children and adolescents from low-income families.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; the corporation billed D.C. Medicaid will spend approximately $14 million on mental health rehabilitation treatments between January 2022 and February 2025.
Defendants are:
- Mwasi Songambele, 52, of Laurel, Maryland, the company’s controlling executive, who is charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, four counts of healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- Maya Cheyo, 31, of Brambleton, Virginia, the company’s chief operating officer and human resources director, who is charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and two counts of healthcare fraud.
- Vanessa Kuh, 29, of Lanham, Maryland, a community support worker, who is charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and two counts of healthcare fraud.
According to federal authorities, Songambele, Cheyo, Kuh, and at least three unnamed co-conspirators filed fraudulent Medicaid claims by inflating the length of patient encounters or documenting services that did not occur.
According to the indictment, Songambele directed staff to bill Medicaid for almost one hour of telehealth services, even if the calls lasted only a few minutes.
Employees were allegedly told to document sessions lasting 53 to 67 minutes at random in order to make the claims appear plausible.
Prosecutors further say that Songambele directed employees to use all 600 Medicaid-authorized service units available to each telehealth patient over a 180-day period, regardless of medical need or whether the services were actually performed.
The indictment names Cheyo, also known as Mwaya Songambele, as Songambele’s daughter.
According to federal authorities, Songambele is a Tanzanian citizen with a pending final order of removal from the United States.
“No one stealing from taxpayer-funded programs is safe,” United States Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro stated. “As alleged, these defendants treated Medicaid as a personal piggy bank in a scheme that caused millions in losses, billing for services never provided while funding luxury vehicles and other extravagant purchases.”
The indictment demands the confiscation of many luxury vehicles, including two Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUVs, a Mercedes-Benz cargo van, a Mercedes-Benz C300, and a Land Rover Defender.
Prosecutors are also seeking the seizure of a home in the 7000 block of Tranquility Road in Laurel, as well as a Panthère de Cartier watch.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office in Washington, D.C., conducted the investigation. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Inspector General’s Office and the United States. Inspector General’s Office, Department of Health and Human Services.
Jason Facci, an assistant US attorney, is prosecuting the case.
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