Virginia Mental Health Professional Indicted for $49 Million Medicaid Fraud Scheme
ANALYSIS · October 28, 2026
Slug: virginia-mental-health-professional-charged-49m-medicaid
Package note: This analysis covers the Department of Justice press release dated October 28, 2026, announcing a federal grand jury indictment returned October 20, 2026, against Mikia Antoneice Noble. The indictment charges conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. It does not constitute a finding of guilt; the document states that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Primary sources
- Department of Justice (October 28, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/virginia-mental-health-professional-charged-49m-medicaid-fraud-scheme
A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Mikia Antoneice Noble, 37, of North Chesterfield, Virginia, on October 20, 2026. Noble, co-owner and Chief Operating Officer of Advancing Communities Everywhere LLC (ACE), was arrested October 28. The indictment alleges she participated in a scheme that submitted over $49 million in false and fraudulent claims to Virginia Medicaid from January 2022 through April 2026 for mental health crisis services that were not provided as billed.
Core Tension
The Department of Justice announcement frames the case as a deliberate fraud scheme in which a licensed mental health provider and company co-owner allegedly billed Medicaid for high-level crisis services while delivering far less. The indictment alleges services were provided by single low-level staff instead of required teams including licensed professionals, over $2 million was paid for hotel rooms used to induce unnecessary billing, medical records were falsified with unauthorized signatures including Noble’s while she was out of the country, and auditors were lied to. It charges one count of conspiracy and three counts of health care fraud, each carrying a maximum of 10 years in prison. The document does not address the final amount actually paid by Medicaid, the status of co-owner charges, or any civil recovery actions.
What the press release does
| Section / element | Verified text / effect |
|---|---|
| Defendant and company | Mikia Antoneice Noble, 37, co-owner and Chief Operating Officer of Advancing Communities Everywhere LLC (ACE) in the Richmond area; she also claimed to work as a mental health professional for ACE. |
| Alleged scheme | ACE purported to provide mental health services to individuals experiencing acute or significant behavioral health crises but did not provide those services as billed. |
| Specific fraudulent acts | Billed for crisis services by teams including a trained and licensed professional that were provided only by a single low-level, less qualified professional; paid over $2 million for hotel rooms to induce Medicaid beneficiaries to allow billing for unneeded services; falsified records by adding signatures of licensed professionals who did not participate; falsified records with Noble’s signature while she was out of the country; lied to Medicaid Managed Care Organizations during audits. |
| Time period and amount | From January 2022 through April 2026, submitted over $49 million in false and fraudulent claims to Virginia Medicaid. |
| Charges | Conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud; maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. |
| Legal status | “An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.” |
Claims check
| Claim | Assessment | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Noble charged in $49M Medicaid fraud scheme | Verified | Lead paragraph and body of the October 28, 2026 DOJ press release. |
| Scheme involved billing for crisis services not provided as claimed | Verified | “ACE purported to provide mental health services … but did not provide those services as billed.” |
| Over $2 million paid for hotel rooms to induce unnecessary billing | Verified | Direct statement in the list of alleged acts. |
| Medical records falsified with unauthorized signatures, including Noble’s while abroad | Verified | Two separate bullet points in the indictment allegations. |
| Noble faces up to 10 years per count | Verified | “If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count.” |
| Strike Force has charged 6,200 defendants billing more than $45 billion since 2007 | Verified | Background paragraph on the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. |
Context / what to watch
- Trial: Date not set; case is prosecuted by the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
- Investigation: Ongoing by the FBI Richmond Field Office and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General.
- Related DOJ actions: April 7 announcement of the new Fraud Division and its support for the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.
Reviewed and checked against the official DOJ release · Kelvic Report · 2026-10-29 · for /analysis/virginia-mental-health-professional-charged-49m-medicaid