EAST LANSING, Mich. — Bernice Marie Pate, 51, of Inkster, has been charged with 10 counts of Medicaid fraud – false claim, following allegations that she exploited Michigan’s Medicaid transportation reimbursement program. Each count carries a potential four-year felony sentence.
Pate was arraigned in the 54B District Court in East Lansing before Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt on October 8, 2025.
Earlier in the week, Wanda Rose Spivey, 55, of Taylor, and Ashley Eliza Mendoza, 34, of Detroit, faced similar charges in connection with the same scheme. Both women were arraigned on October 6, 2025, and each faces five counts of Medicaid fraud – false claim.
According to court documents, Michigan’s Medicaid program reimburses beneficiaries for mileage when traveling to eligible medical appointments. Participants can use a smartphone app that tracks trips via GPS, and reimbursement funds are loaded onto payment cards provided upon registration.
Investigators allege that the defendants used another app to falsify their location data, tricking the system into recording trips that never occurred. They then submitted false claims for mileage reimbursement.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (DHHS-OIG) referred the case to the Department of Attorney General, whose Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD) is prosecuting the matter.
All three defendants were granted $50,000 personal recognizance bonds. They are scheduled to appear in court again on October 17, 2025, for a Probable Cause Conference, followed by a Preliminary Examination on October 23, 2025.
The HCFD, Michigan’s federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, totaling $5.5 million for fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25%, or about $1.8 million, is funded by the State of Michigan.
