The Kentucky attorney general is now asking individuals who gave personal information as part of recent cash-for-DNA dealings to get in touch with his office, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
Earlier this month, WAVE 3 News in Louisville reported that people in unmarked vans were approaching homeless individuals in the city, offering them cash in exchange for a cheek swab. Some participants said they were told the samples were for cancer screening, WAVE 3 News said, adding that some of the swab-takers claimed to be from the Passport Health Plan, which manages Kentucky's Medicaid program, though Passport says they not related.
The attorney general wants people who were swabbed to contact his office's Medicaid Fraud Hotline so it can review whether any fraudulent claims were made to their insurance, the Courier Journal reports.
"Scammers are exploiting Kentuckians' medical needs in an attempt to take in illegal profits," Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear says in a statement, according to Courier Journal. "Kentuckians should rely on the advice of their primary care physicians — not someone who is calling them by phone or driving by in an unmarked vehicle."