Jordan Wilcox
Assistant Publisher
On Wednesday, April 29, 31-year-old Steven John Caplan and his sister, 35-year-old Kayla Marie Earls, both of Harrison, were arraigned in 54B District Court in East Lansing.
According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, the siblings are accused of committing transportation fraud involving a Michigan Medicaid travel program that provides mileage reimbursement to enrolled beneficiaries when they travel to eligible medical appointments. Once a trip is complete, the reimbursement payment is added to a payment card mailed to the beneficiary when they register for this program. The card can then be used like any debit card.
In some cases, a smartphone app is made available to track mileage to these appointments using the built-in GPS of the phone. Prosecutors allege that the siblings participated in a scheme where another app was used to effectively trick a phone into thinking it was someplace it was not and submitted reimbursement requests for trips that never took place.
Caplan is charged with one count of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony; one count of Medicaid fraud – conspiracy, a 10-year felony; and 10 counts of Medicaid fraud – false claim, each a four-year felony. His cash/surety bond was set at $100,000.
Earls is charged with one count each of Medicaid fraud – conspiracy and Medicaid fraud – false claim. Her bond was set at $10,000 cash/surety.
Both are scheduled to return to court May 8 for a probable cause conference.
“Medicaid dollars provide essential care for Michiganders, and my office will not tolerate those who defraud the system,” said Attorney General Nessel. “I want to again thank DHHS-OIG and the Clare County Sheriff’s Office for their partnership in investigating this matter. We will continue to hold accountable individuals who steal from taxpayers and divert funds away from the residents who need them most.”
This matter was referred to the Department of Attorney General by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (DHHS-OIG), and the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD) is handling this case for the Department. The HCFD is the federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for Michigan, and it receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $5,517,524.00 for the fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25% percent, totaling $1,839,170.00, is funded by the State of Michigan.
