32 CHARGED WITH SALE OF CARDS USED TO BUY DRUG

TABOR CITY - Clara Graham was hunched over, picking green beans in this
eastern N.C. town Wednesday when patrol cars pulled up and officers
surrounded, handcuffed and searched her.

The charge against her: Police say she twice sold her Medicaid card to
dealers of the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin.

"Whose Medicaid card is it supposed to be?" the 45-year-old yelled, then
laughed and tossed her head back as an officer searched her pockets. "This
is crazy."

In a first-of-its-kind raid in North Carolina, Graham was one of 32
Medicaid recipients federal, state and Columbus County authorities searched
for during a roundup of people they believe sold their monthly Medicaid
cards. Investigators say the card users then fraudulently bought $28,926 in
OxyContin at pharmacies.

The bust was the latest step in the state's fight against Medicaid fraud
and the illegal use of OxyContin.

Medicaid cards work much like insurance cards, so people with Medicaid can
pay for doctor's appointments and prescriptions. Police said those who sold
the cards made between $20 and $200 each.

By late afternoon Wednesday, officials had charged 24 suspects with medical
assistance recipient fraud. Some gave up easily. One put up a fight, hiding
in a closet while officers raided his home, guns drawn.

All are scheduled to be arraigned in Columbus County District Court today
and could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.

Officials say Columbus County -- an agricultural county of 55,000 people
about 160 miles east of Charlotte -- has been a target for a Medicaid ring
partly because drug dealers know poor people willing to sell their cards.

Another factor, they say, is its proximity to South Carolina. Towns on
state borders often have worse drug problems because dealers find it easier
to evade police in two states.

Investigators say many of the cards were used to buy OxyContin in Charlotte
and surrounding cities, including Matthews and Indian Trail, leading
authorities to believe the ringleaders are from those areas.

Officials in the Columbus County social services department started to
notice a problem about six months ago, when local pharmacists called them,
wondering why so many Medicaid patients were buying OxyContin. Some
pharmacists suspected some prescriptions for the drug had been forged.

An investigation revealed that those buying the drug had bought the
Medicaid cards.

For just a $3 copayment, buyers of the Medicaid cards were able in some
cases to buy a $670 bottle of OxyContin. The bottle's street value would be
as much as $7,200, officials said.

Investigators say more busts of this type are likely.

"This may really be bigger than what we think. I can't believe that it's
(only) here," said Columbus County Sheriff Jimmy Ferguson. "People are
trying to figure out a way to get drugs without working the streets."

One suspect, Devaugh Prince of Tabor City, said his Medicaid card had been
stolen by his friend's father, a man he knew was an OxyContin dealer.

Prince, 31, is disabled and said he was surprised when officers arrived at
his home shortly after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities say Prince's card
was used to buy more than $1,000 worth of OxyContin.

"I knew it was being used to buy Oxy," Prince said. "I'd told the SBI about
it. I didn't know they were going to pop me or nothing."