Seven Defendants Charged in Western District of Kentucky as Part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown

Five more individuals and two companies in the Western District of Kentucky have been charged in four separate cases as part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The defendants face allegations including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, identity theft, misuse of DEA numbers, and acquiring controlled substances by misrepresentation. The charged schemes allegedly defrauded Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid of millions of dollars.

In the largest case, Angela Renfro, 57, Briana Gosnell, 35, KLF Company LLC, and Freedom Center LLC were charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud for submitting more than $11 million in fraudulent claims to Kentucky Medicaid for peer support and psychoeducation services that were unauthorized, and in many instances, never rendered. Renfro and Gosnell allegedly used providers’ National Provider Identifiers without their knowledge, resulting in aggravated identity theft charges. In a separate case, Dr. Christian Berkhahn, 51, was charged with conspiracy to obtain controlled substances by fraud and healthcare fraud for using his DEA number to order Cotempla and oxycodone in others’ names, with Kentucky Medicaid paying for the prescriptions. Einar Serrano Reyes, 35, of Florida, was charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly submitting $315,050 in false Medicare claims using a doctor’s NPI number for services never rendered. Finally, Meredith Rachael Douglass, 38, a registered nurse, was charged with theft of medical products and acquiring controlled substances including fentanyl, hydromorphone, and oxycodone from the hospitals where she worked.

“Those programs provide vital healthcare coverage to the elderly and the disadvantaged. They are funded by the hard work of the American taxpayer,” said U.S. Attorney Kyle Bumgarner. This case reflects the government’s aggressive pursuit of healthcare fraud at every level, from corporate entities to individual medical professionals, and the importance of whistleblowers and qui tam actions in uncovering fraud that wastes taxpayer dollars and undermines patient care.