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3 Men Charged In Medicaid Scam Over Bathroom Renovations

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 31, 2008

CLEARWATER - Three Clearwater men were arrested this week in a statewide scheme that fraudulently billed a Medicaid program for renovations to the bathrooms of the disabled that were done improperly or never done, according to court documents.

Charged with organized scheme to defraud and Medicaid provider fraud were Harry Sherman Lochbaum Sr., 65, of 1447 Stewart Blvd.; Richard Lehman, 59, of 912 Pine St.; and Gary Auffarth, 50, of 1670 Jeffords St.

Lehman and Auffarth are the president and vice president, respectively, of A&L Projects, a residential building contractor based in Largo. They allowed Lochbaum, who is not a licensed subcontractor, to file bids on the company's behalf with the state Medicaid program for projects to renovate the bathrooms of the disabled in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Orange and St. Lucie counties, court records say.
Lochbaum performed substandard work - or no work, in some cases - but billed Medicaid, which is administered by the Agency for Health Care Administration, more than $70,000, court documents say. A&L Projects was to get 20 percent of the proceeds; Lochbaum, 80 percent.
Lochbaum made visits to eight homes, documents say. In one case, he demolished a bathroom but did not return for weeks, and as a result, the demolition caused a mold problem, documents say. At other homes, he tried to pass on the renovation costs to the parents of the Medicaid recipients, asking them to pay for tile, plumbers and showers, documents say.

He also bought the cheapest material possible and tried to use the toilets, vanities and tile already in the bathrooms for the renovation jobs, even though the plans he submitted called for the purchase of new items, documents say.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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