Several employees of the US Virgin Islands Department of Human Services (DHS), along with family members and associates, have been arrested and charged following a wide-ranging investigation into alleged Medicaid and SNAP fraud that authorities say resulted in more than US$300,000 in losses to the Territory.

The US Virgin Islands Department of Justice (DOJ), working alongside its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), announced that four employees of the DHS Medicaid Program and two employees of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are among those charged, along with four relatives and associates. 

The arrests follow a 20-month investigation into irregularities in the administration of Medicaid benefits.

According to investigators, the scheme involved the deliberate misuse of government computer systems to bypass eligibility safeguards, allowing ineligible individuals to receive Medicaid coverage. 

Authorities said eligibility records were altered, household files manipulated, and benefits approved for individuals who did not qualify under the law.

In some cases, Medicaid coverage was unlawfully extended for up to two years, despite annual recertification requirements. 

Investigators also allege that benefits were backdated to create the appearance of continuous eligibility. 

The total estimated loss to the Territory is approximately US$309,099.44.

Those charged include Medicaid Program employees Doenyka Lewis; Shanoya Hendrickson and her mother Karen Blyden; Shantenysha Victor; and Kenera Sheneal Frederick and her mother Sharon Olivia Henry. 

SNAP employees Clarissa L Nunez and Lisaminelli Montanez were also charged, along with their respective relatives and associates. 

Authorities said Victor’s husband, Akim Noel Davis, has not yet been located and remains wanted.

The investigation began after DHS’s Public Integrity Unit identified irregularities in Medicaid eligibility determinations and referred the matter to the MFCU. Arrests were carried out at DHS offices in Estate Hannah’s Rest on St Croix, as well as at private residences across the island.

Attorney General Gordon Rhea described the alleged conduct as a serious breach of trust.

“We will not tolerate the corruption of vital public programs by those entrusted to administer them,” Rhea said, adding that the accused knowingly bypassed established safeguards for personal gain or to benefit others.

Rhea emphasised that the Virgin Islands government is actively investigating corruption within its own systems, independent of any federal probes. 

He said multiple agencies — including the DOJ’s Special Investigations Division, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Office of the Inspector General, and the Virgin Islands Police Department — worked together on the case.

Governor Albert Bryan also weighed in, calling the allegations “deeply troubling” and stressing that Medicaid exists to serve the Territory’s most vulnerable residents.

“Any effort to exploit it is an attack on the public trust and a theft from the people of the Virgin Islands,” Bryan said. 

He reiterated his administration’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption and praised DHS Commissioner Averil George for cooperating fully with investigators.

“My administration will continue to support every lawful effort to uncover wrongdoing, recover misused funds, and hold accountable anyone who violates the public trust,” the governor added.