Baltimore City Social Worker Pleads Guilty to Felony Medicaid Fraud

Baltimore, MD (September 20, 2019) - Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced that Celeste Bland-Guary, 54, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to one count of felony Medicaid Fraud for submitting false claims to the Maryland Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid).  Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa K. Copeland sentenced Bland-Guary to a six-month suspended sentence and placed Bland-Guary on five years of supervised probation.  Judge Copeland also ordered Bland-Guary to pay $81,794.04 in restitution to Medicaid.  As a condition of the plea agreement, Bland-Guary is required to withdraw as a Medicaid provider and not reapply for five years.  Bland-Guary is also prohibited from working for any provider in a federally-funded health care program for five years.

Bland-Guary is a licensed clinical social worker who operated a private mental health practice in Baltimore City where she provided services to Medicaid recipients.  From April 2015 through October 2018, Bland-Guary submitted false claims to Medicaid and was reimbursed for services that she did not provide.  During the State’s investigation, Bland-Guary produced falsified documentation, including session notes and sign-in sheets.

Attorney General Frosh thanked the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for prosecuting the case, specifically Assistant Attorney General Tracee Orlove Fruman, Investigator Michael Glenn, and Investigator Julia Foster Tansmore.  Attorney General Frosh also thanked the Maryland Department of Health, Office of Inspector General for its assistance.