Riverview counselor accused of Medicaid fraud

RIVERVIEW -- A licensed mental health counselor was jailed on a fraud charge Wednesday after state investigators concluded he had billed the Florida Medicaid program for more than $20,000 worth of services he did not provide.

James Phillip Cusack, 43, of 10815 Wrigley Court, Riverview, billed the government for patients of whom he had no record, according to a news release from Attorney General Bill McCollum's office. In one case, he claimed to have diagnosed someone with chronic depression even though he had never seen that person, the release said.

Cusack is charged with organized fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. He was held Wednesday in the Orient Road Jail in lieu of $7,500 bail.

- Thomas Lake, Times staff writer