LANSING, Mich. (News 10) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced criminal charges against four Michigan residents, including a Lansing pharmacist, as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Health Care Fraud Takedown.
Among those charged is Kurt Hammond, 56, of Ann Arbor, who faces one count of Medicaid fraud for allegedly submitting a false claim. According to the Attorney General’s Office, Hammond worked as a pharmacist at Central Pharmacy in Lansing from 2020 to 2024.
Investigators allege he dispensed and billed Medicaid for a significant number of female condoms that the pharmacy never purchased from a wholesaler. The charge was filed in 54B District Court in East Lansing.
Three additional defendants were also charged:
Wayne White, 63, of Detroit, was charged with three counts of larceny by conversion involving $20,000 or more, each a 10-year felony, in 36th District Court in Detroit.
Prosecutors allege White improperly received more than $234,000 intended for autism services while working as a part-time community outreach contractor for the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network between August 2024 and April 2025.
Claudia Payne, 47, of Mt. Pleasant, was charged with five counts of Medicaid fraud for allegedly submitting false claims. Prosecutors allege Payne received Medicaid payments to provide caregiving services to an elderly disabled man between October 2023 and November 2024 but failed to provide the care, leaving the victim severely neglected.
John Kempainen, 43, of Oak Park, was charged with six counts of Medicaid fraud. According to investigators, Kempainen billed Medicaid for care he agreed to provide to a vulnerable adult living alone in a senior housing complex.
Prosecutors allege he failed to provide any care for at least four months between February and June 2026 while living out of state.
All four cases are being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division.
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