An easy way to earn a nickname is to be so good at something that people will give it to you. Elvis Presley was so revolutionary for the music industry, he earned the title King of Rock and Roll. Michael Jordan’s next level ability to fly to the basketball hoop not only led to endorsements, but earned him the nickname “His Airness.” So, imagine how many prescriptions of codeine one needs to sell to gain the nickname “Dr. Codeine.” Kevan Andre Hills prescribed hundreds of them. And he is not even a doctor. Although he plays one in fraud.
Hills and his co-conspirators, Devin Tyrone Stampley, Jr. and Asia Deshan Guess, fraudulently billed Medicaid for fake prescriptions of controlled substances, such as Promethazine with Codeine and Hydrocodone. Using stolen Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration numbers and other identifying information of several physicians, Hills and his co-conspirators obtained the controlled substances for their own personal use, all on the U.S. taxpayers’ dollars.
Fraudsters often employ multiple schemes to achieve their goals. And these three fraudsters didn’t disappoint. Hills, Stampley, and Guess submitted fraudulent applications for federal funds, seeking at least $293,498 in funds administered by the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program and Coronavirus Aid Relief. They also submitted fraudulent applications and claims for unemployment benefits to the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC), Maine Department of Labor (Maine DOL), and other state workforce agencies around the country. They fraudulently received almost a half a million dollars in COVID-19 pandemic aid.
On May 9, 2025. Hills, Stampley, and Guess pleaded guilty to identity theft, health care fraud, and theft of government funds. All three truly earned the nickname “fraudsters.”
Excellent job by the Department of Health and Human Services in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on ‘Dr. Codeine’ and 2 others plead to getting opioids and more in Louisiana-based Medicaid scam” published by The Advocate on May 9, 2025.
The Russell B. Long Federal Building and United States Courthouse is seen, Wednesday, December 20, 2023, in Baton Rouge, La. Top of FormBottom of Form Three accused scammers who forged nearly 100 prescriptions to get promethazine, codeine, hydrocodone and other pharmaceuticals confessed to Medicaid fraud in federal court Thursday.
Kevan Andre Hills, Devin Tyrone Stampley Jr. and Asia Deshan Guess stood before U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson during a hearing inside the U.S. Middle District Courthouse in Baton Rouge.
