Medicaid Fraud Unit Investigates Youth & Shelter Services

has been in the news recently for a criminal investigation of its books, but George Belitsos, the nonprofit's CEO, said he's confident no charges will come from it.

Iowa’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has been investigating the agency's Medicaid billings since July, Belitsos said.

State officials seemed to think that the agency has been charging Medicaid the maximum amount allowed for counseling services rather than the true cost, an article in the Des Moines Register reported. About $1.5 million in Medicaid payments made in the past five years are being questioned.

An article in the Ames Tribune said a letter from the Department of Human Services called the agency's financial records incomplete.

While the investigation is ongoing, a portion of Medicaid payments have been suspended. Belitsos said it amounts to about 3.5 percent of the non profit's budget.

The investigation's outcome could take nine months to a year, he said.