Nashville Man Faked Identity, Illegally Obtained TennCare Benefits

The Office of the TennCare Inspector General has arrested Ricky Kenneth Lyons of Nashville, charging him with assuming the identity of a TennCare enrollee for more than a year and illegally obtaining benefits at local pharmacies and doctor’s offices.

Lyons was charged with a Class E felony, punishable by up to two years in prison. The identity theft charge is a Class D felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.

The TennCare Inspector General’s office was created last year to investigate criminal fraud within the TennCare program. Twenty-one people were arrested in August and charged with TennCare fraud and 91 people have been arrested since the office became fully operational in February.