THREE ARRESTED IN TENNCARE FRAUD ROUND-UP IN COFFEE COUNTY

TWO ADMIT: SELLING TENNCARE DRUGS WAS A SIDE BUSINESS

NASHVILLE – Three Coffee County residents, including a man and his ex-wife, have been charged with TennCare fraud. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and officers from the Tullahoma Police Department today arrested the three.

Charges were filed today against Huey Baker, 72 and his ex-wife Mary Baker, 61, who lived together in Tullahoma and in a separate case, Lloyd Cobble, 52, also of Tullahoma. They are accused of both aiding and abetting and fraudulently obtaining TennCare benefits to which they were not entitled.

According to an affidavit filed against the Bakers, an undercover informant working for the Tullahoma Police Department on July 8 purchased 62 hydrocodone pills from the Bakers at a business owned by Huey Baker, Huey’s Thrift Store in Tullahoma. Special Agent Chad Argo says in the affidavit that the prescription for hydrocodone was paid for by TennCare.

Both Huey and Mary Baker admitted to a Special Agent that they have been selling their TennCare prescription drugs for about a year. An affidavit further alleges that Huey Baker stated that his granddaughter gave him some of her TennCare prescription drugs to sell. He said that was the case with the pills he sold to the undercover agent.

In a separate case, the arrest of Lloyd Cobble was also a result of an undercover drug operation conducted with the Tullahoma Police Department. According to an affidavit, an undercover informant purchased 20 hydrocodone tablets from Cobble for $100. The pills were from a prescription Cobble had filled the day before, which was paid for by TennCare.

“Illegal trafficking in TennCare drugs is a pervasive problem throughout the state and we hope both enrollees who illegally sell their TennCare drugs and those who buy them understand this is a serious crime and we intend to prosecute,” Inspector General Deborah Faulkner said.

The TennCare fraud charges against the three are Class E felonies, punishable by up to two years in prison. Huey Baker is also charged with selling a Schedule II controlled substance, a Class C felony punishable by up to 6 years in prison. Bond was set at fifty-thousand dollars for each charge. Coffee County District Attorney Mickey Layne is prosecuting.

Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tennessee.gov/tenncare and follow the prompts that read “Report Fraud Now.”