Two Georgia Election Workers Charged for Healthcare Fraud Scheme

Two Georgia election workers have just been federally charged for taking part in a years-long healthcare fraud scheme.

Allegedly, elections supervisor Tarshea Fudge-Riley and election clerk Lamonica Lakes submitted fraudulent insurance claims for mental therapy sessions that never actually happened.

Despite the indictment, both women are reportedly still employed in their roles at the Macon County Board of Elections!

Take a look:

BREAKING: Two Georgia election workers CHARGED for healthcare fraud scheme

Tarshea Fudge-Riley, elections supervisor for Macon County

Lamonica Lakes, election clerk & deputy election registrar

They allegedly billed insurance companies for therapy sessions that never happened… pic.twitter.com/NbjzagfA88

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 19, 2026

BREAKING: Two Georgia election workers CHARGED for healthcare fraud scheme

Tarshea Fudge-Riley, elections supervisor for Macon County

Lamonica Lakes, election clerk & deputy election registrar

They allegedly billed insurance companies for therapy sessions that never happened and pocketed the funds.

They are both still at their positions in the elections office.

Along with the two election workers, three other women — including a therapist — were charged in the scheme.

WGXA reported further:

A Montezuma therapist, two Macon County Board of Elections (BOE) officials and two other Middle Georgia women are facing federal charges for their connection to a years-long mental health care fraud scheme.

According to an indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Georgia, Dawn James-Ellis, 54, Tarshea Fudge-Riley, 53, and Lamonica Lakes, 47, all from Montezuma, as well asa s 54-year-old Angela Childs of Vienna and 43-year-old Adrian Harris of Warner Robins were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud on March 10, 2026.

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The grand jury indictment alleges that, from January 2019 to December 2022, James-Ellis, a licensed therapist operating her practice, Therapy On the Go in Montezuma, submitted several fraudulent insurance claims for mental health therapy sessions she knew never occurred to receive millions of dollars in payments from insurance companies.

Federal prosecutors believe Fudge-Riley, who is the Chief Macon County BOE Supervisor, and Lakes, an elections clerk at the Macon County BOE, as well as Childs, were paid by James Ellis to knowingly create fake therapy session notes that were submitted to health insurance providers for “pre-payment review.”

James-Ellis is also believed to have paid Harris and others to knowingly provide their and their family’s health care insurance and plan information for the fraudulent claims for sessions that never occurred.

The Montezuma therapist is also facing an additional charge of identity fraud for using the information of clients without their knowledge or permission to falsely document sessions she did not provide, per the indictment.

These are the people running our elections…

But don’t worry, I’m sure elections in Macon are very secure and free of fraud.

Like the rest of Georgia, I’m sure elections in Macon County, Georgia are corruption free.

Hopefully Macon County has a DA of the same high caliber as @FultonCountyDA .@ajc@GovKemp

— Dean H (@DeanSiam2026) April 20, 2026

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