GREENSBORO, N.C. — A dozen apartments are now condemned, after city health inspectors found bugs, roaches, leaks, and broken fire alarms and smoke detectors.
The discovery of these issues last week lead to an even bigger investigation involving a possible Medicaid scheme.
Greensboro Housing Coalition's executive director explains this alleged scheme this way: the scammers go out, look for people in deep poverty, then ask if they have Medicaid. If so - they offer housing, and it spirals from there.
At Overland Heights in Greensboro, you'll find Vanessa Cunningham who says she doesn't have another place to live.
"I'm just homeless and I need somewhere to stay so this is the best I can do," she said.
Her unit wasn't condemned, but many of her neighbors were forced to move - like Kenneth Williamson. His Georgetown Manor apartment was one of the twelve condemned by the city. He described the conditions to us.
"No air-conditioning, stove doesn't work, the refrigerator doesn't shut all the way, so roaches get in the refrigerator. And bed bugs," he said.
They're two of dozens of people that the Greensboro Housing Coalition believes were tricked into living here.
"They are desperate is the answer," said executive director Brett Byerly, "And what the residents all reported to me is that they were recruited to join these programs."
Last week, Byerly was tipped off about a possible Medicaid scheme, when the power was cut off from the complex, and one of the residents called him.
On the surface, it might seem like a beneficial program for certain people in need. They get free or reduced housing, but most of the residents must go to classes for substance abuse, or other mental health issues.
But, Byerly says the scammers who set it all up can profit off the people they're supposedly helping.
"A substance-abuse class has a rate that they pay per person, per week, that they can bill back to Medicaid, so they would bill for those services," he explains, "A very clever way of getting people to go to their appointments is to put them all in one apartment complex, pull a bus out upfront, and make them get on the bus every morning. And tell them if they don't get on the bus, then they lose their housing."
Byerly says he doesn't believe this is an isolated case, saying there are multiple sites like this one across the city operating the same way.
The city says it's exploring all options on how to go after the agencies behind this alleged scheme.
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