State prosecutors in Alaska have charged 15 people and businesses with submitting more than $1.8 million in allegedly fraudulent Medicaid claims across five separate cases, according to court filings and state officials. The criminal complaints, filed in June, include managers and owners of assisted living homes, at least one dentist from Soldotna and individuals who were paid by Medicaid to help care for family members.
Scope and key defendants
The cases are part of a larger, nationwide push to reduce fraud in the federally and state-funded Medicaid program, the state said. Authorities allege the allegations go beyond record-keeping errors; prosecutors characterized the matters as deliberate schemes to bill Medicaid for services that were not documented or were not provided.
“Medicaid is not an unlimited amount of money... It’s important for the Medicaid Fraud Unit to figure out who these individuals are who are not abiding by the regulations and are choosing profit over patients,”
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Alaska Department of Law, which brought the charges, named several of the defendants and businesses in court documents. Two of the larger cases outlined by prosecutors are:
- Graystone Assisted Living Home LLC — Owner Amie Sanneh and administrator Sainabou Faal are accused of submitting more than $1.1 million in Medicaid claims from 2022 through 2025 without adequate documentation. Investigators say the probe into the Anchorage group home began in 2025 after a tip to another state agency following the death of a patient.
- Businesses owned by Kyle and Molly Bates — Prosecutors allege more than $600,000 in fraudulent claims were submitted by three facilities the couple owns in Anchorage and Chugiak: Heritage Assisted Living Home LLC, Heritage Home LLC and Alaska Life Group Homes LLC. An administrator, Peyton Love, is also charged in that case.
Who else is charged and where cases were filed
Other defendants include a dentist in Soldotna and several individuals who received Medicaid payments to assist relatives. All 15 defendants face felony charges, and attorneys for the charged parties either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment, according to the filings and reporting.
Prosecutors filed the criminal cases in June in state court. The complaints allege that billing practices ranged from missing documentation to billing for services that prosecutors say were never provided to beneficiaries.
| Case | Primary defendants | Alleged amount | Allegations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graystone Assisted Living | Amie Sanneh; Sainabou Faal | $1.1M+ | Billing without proper documentation (2022–2025); probe followed tip after patient death |
| Heritage/Alaska Life Group Homes | Kyle and Molly Bates; Peyton Love (administrator) | $600K+ | Billing without documentation; alleged billing for services not provided |
Why it matters for Alaska
Medicaid funds pay for care for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, including elderly people in assisted living facilities and individuals who rely on paid in-home supports. State officials say fraud reduces resources available for legitimate care and strains a program that is jointly financed by state and federal dollars.
The prosecutions follow a trend of intensified enforcement nationwide and signal that Alaska investigators are focusing on both facility-level operators and individuals who receive Medicaid payments. Criminal charges can lead to prison time, fines, restitution and exclusion from participation in public health programs, depending on convictions and sentencing.
Residents and families with questions about billing practices or suspected abuse can seek information from the Alaska Department of Health and the Department of Law’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Court proceedings in the newly filed cases will move through the state judicial system in the coming months.
As these cases proceed, the state’s actions underscore growing scrutiny of long-term care and home- and community-based services in Alaska. Prosecutors and regulators say their goal is to protect patients and ensure Medicaid dollars are used for authorized care.
(Photo caption: The Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage, where filings were made, is shown in a 2022 photo.)
