Branch Ave Raid of U’Nique Diversity Innovations: Owner, Staff Indicted for $2M Medicaid Fraud, related charges by AG

Seven individuals charged with crimes related to Medicaid fraud of $2 million

An indictment, information, or complaint is merely an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today announced that a statewide grand jury returned a 51-count indictment against seven individuals in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Rhode Island Medicaid of approximately $2 million through U’Nique Diversity Innovations, LLC (UDI), a community health worker provider in Providence. The alleged scheme included billing for services never provided or substantially overstated, falsifying supporting records, and paying illegal kickbacks to recruit Medicaid beneficiaries.

Last week, the Office announced Medicaid fraud charges against seven other individuals totaling more than $1 million.

“Medicaid funding provides essential health care services for some of our most vulnerable residents, which makes instances of Medicaid fraud all the more frustrating,” said Attorney General Neronha. “As the federal government continues to restrict Medicaid funding to the states, we must be even more vigilant in protecting these life-saving funds. Those who commit Medicaid fraud, as alleged here, are stealing public funds, thereby putting the health and safety of Rhode Islanders at risk. I thank the members of our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for their outstanding work on these cases and their continued efforts to protect public resources while safeguarding access to critical health care services.”

U’Nique Diversity Innovations, LLC (P1-2026-4124A-G)

On October 19, 2026, Shanee Vega (44), Michael Pete (37), Nitasia Burgess (36), Larry Fisher (39), Elaisha Vega Ogiba (28), Jerry Nicoleau (46), and Yanelis Brown (20) were indicted for various charges related to Medicaid fraud. Charges vary by defendant and include Medicaid fraud, obtaining money by false pretenses, conspiracy, identity theft, public assistance fraud, unlawful appropriation and violations of Rhode Island’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute.

In 2022, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) established the Medicaid-funded Community Health Worker (CHW) program. While not clinicians themselves, CHWs assist Medicaid recipients navigate the health care system. Medicaid provides payment for CHW services only when the services are determined to be medically necessary. Under the State of Rhode Island Medicaid Program rules, CHW services are considered medically necessary for beneficiaries with one or more chronic health (including behavioral health) conditions, who are at risk of a chronic health condition, and/or who face barriers meeting their health or health-related social needs. Additionally, CHW services must be provided by individuals certified by the Rhode Island Certification Board (RICB) as a CHW, or individuals who have a plan for working toward RICB certification within 18 months.

According to the indictment, EOHHS approved UDI as a Medicaid CHW practice on November 13, 2024. Shanee Vega was UDI’s owner, chief executive officer and sole biller. Her daughter, Elai’sha Vega Ogiba, served as co-owner and administrator, Larry Fisher served as the non-medical Clinical Director, Nitasia Burgess, a licensed practical nurse, served as UDI’s assistant director of nursing, and Pete, Brown, and Nicoleau were all employees of UDI. As alleged in the Indictment, none of the seven defendants were certified as community health workers during the relevant period.

The State alleges that between November 2024 and June 2025, Vega submitted fraudulent claims that resulted in approximately $2 million dollars in Medicaid payments to UDI. Those claims included services never provided, services substantially overstated, and services purportedly provided to family members and while beneficiaries were incarcerated.

To support the fraudulent billing, Vega and Pete allegedly generated patient notes and treatment records months after the purported service dates using artificial intelligence. Vega, Burgess, and Fisher also allegedly manufactured, altered, and signed backdated employee training certificates, falsely representing that UDI staff had completed training required for Medicaid reimbursement. Additional allegations concern falsified patient records submitted to obtain authorization for services.

The alleged scheme also involved cash payments and bonuses for recruiting Medicaid beneficiaries. Vega alleged offered a $1,000 dollar “bonus contest” for employees who recruited 10 new clients. Pete allegedly accepted these recruitment payments and conspired with Vega to use beneficiaries’ identifying information to bill for services never rendered. Pete, Nicoleau, and Brown allegedly conspired with Vega to obtain Medicaid payments for services never provided, including through backdated claims. Brown also faces an identity theft charge involving a child’s identifying and financial information.

The indictment also alleges that Vega knowingly and intentionally appropriated Medicaid funds for her own use, including payments for cosmetic dentistry, aesthetic treatments, and dining and restaurant expenses unrelated to UDI’s business.

Vega and Vega-Ogiba also face SNAP fraud charges for allegedly failing to report their ownership interests in UDI and income from the business while continuing to receive food assistance benefits. Vega allegedly received more than $29,000 in reported salary by April 2025, and Vega Ogiba allegedly received $8,900 in reported salary during the first quarter of 2025.

As further alleged, Vega used Medicaid payments to prepay a two-year lease at 715 Branch Avenue in Providence. After EOHHS suspended UDI’s Medicaid payments and billing privileges in May 2025, Vega, Vega Ogiba, and Burgess formed two new businesses to operate at 715 Branch Avenue, Providence, using the leasehold interest acquired with fraudulently obtained Medicaid funds.

The Office’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) received a referral in May 2025 following an investigation by EOHHS’s Office of Program Integrity (OPI). In July 2025, MFCU executed a court ordered search warrant at UDI’s Branch Avenue premises with assistance from the Office’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Attorney General investigated this case with assistance from the R.I. EOHHS OPI, the US HHS-OIG, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.