After pleading guilty to felony Medicaid fraud in October, 57-year-old Gulong Craft of Colorado Springs was sentenced to eight years of probation Wednesday.

Craft allegedly falsified medical bills to steal $122,441 between 2020 and 2023. As part of his sentence, he was ordered to pay the full amount in restitution.

Craft’s case started in 2023 when fraud investigators were referred to him after other agencies discovered illegal Medicaid billing by Craft’s company, Craft Care, LLC. The company was enrolled with Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to provide care for Medicaid patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Upon further investigation, there was “little to no footprint” of the company online. Neither Craft nor his spouse claimed any wages from the company.

A deeper investigation into Craft’s billing claims showed a higher-than-normal number of denied claims over several years, hinting at intentional fraud rather than errors.

A thorough dive into Craft’s billing claims uncovered that he billed for services even after care was discontinued, for years in one case. Craft also failed to keep records as required under his agreement with HCPF, according to a news release Wednesday afternoon.

“The biggest victims of Medicaid fraud are usually low-income patients who lean on Medicaid for critical health care services,” Attorney General Phil Weiser stated in Wednesday’s release. “In this case, the defendant’s crimes exploited people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We will remain vigilant in our commitment to protecting Medicaid patients and taxpayers, holding providers who break the law accountable, and recovering fraudulent payments.”