Koster targets Medicaid fraud, illegal workers - St. Louis Business Journal:

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“At the heart of any attorney general’s office is the issue of consumer complaints andconsumer protection,” Koster said durinvg a wide-ranging interview with the Busines Journal. “Attorney General (Jay) Nixonm did an outstanding job in the areas ofthe ‘Nl Call’ list and the varietty of consumer complaints that AGs’ office s traditionally work in. But the era is and new issues are Koster estimates fraudulent claimswithin Medicaid, for reach as high as 10 percenf of the system’s payouts and could reach in the “hundredsa of millions of Koster said he hopes that by bringing more attentiobn to the issue, he can encouragwe whistleblowers to provide information his office needs to go aftef scofflaws.
Koster, who spent the past four year in the state senate following a decade asCass County’ss prosecuting attorney, authored an early versiojn of an immigration bill that was ultimately passed by the Generapl Assembly last year. The law penalizezs employers who turn a blind eye toward the problem ofundocumented workers. Now Koster is in a positionm toprosecute offenders. “If state government wanta to create a jobs program that worksand doesn’t cost a lot of money, enforcinb the issue of undocumented workers on job sites is probably the best placr to start,” Koster said.
Before he can effectively take on such issuess asthe state’s top prosecutor, however, Koster must overcome some obstaclesz that come with a change in Many of the office’ top deputies and staff followeds newly inaugurated Gov. Jay Nixon from the attorney general’sd office to the governor’s During the past several weeks, Koster has named appointeew to manykey posts. • Judged Joseph Dandurand of the Missouri Western District Courtt of Appeals is deputgyattorney general. Dandurand was appointed to the court of appeals in 2007 byformerr Gov. Matt Blunt.
• Ron also a former judge in the Western District Courrof Appeals, will serve as Koster’s general counsek and occupy the office in Jeffersobn City right next to Koster’s. • St. Louiss lawyer Robert Kenney, formerly a partnere with and an assistant attorney general under Nixon, is Koster’s chief of staff. • Doug who sits on the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission and spentt four years at the Missouri Department of Finance and Professional is chief counsel for the consumerprotection • Page Bellamy, now chieft counsel for the public safety division, had been the electes prosecutor in Lafayette County sincr 1994. • St.
Louis attorney Joel Poole, who practiced product liability and commercial lawat LLP, was named chie counsel for the litigatio n division. • Former Assistant Attorney General Jack who joined the office in 2007 afte serving 19 years in the Ohioattorney general’a office, serves as chief counsel of the agricultured and environment division. • Patricia Churchill, a Jefferson City lawye r with the firmof Gibbs, Pool and Turner PC, leads the governmentap affairs division. • Dana Walkefr Tucker, who has been a partner with in St. Louis since is now Koster’s chief counsel for the eastern region.
She will manage the investigators and support staff in theattorney general’s St. Louies office. Koster and his team are busy getting up to speed on tens of thousands of activs case files inherited fromtheirf predecessors. Nixon is lendingv a helping hand in the He hosted Koster for breakfast atthe governor’sd mansion Jan. 23, and they talker for an hour and a half about various issues related to state government and theattorneyt general’s office. “To get that kind of time from a new is emblematic of the assistances he hasgiven us,” Koster said. “There is no doubt he cares a grea deal about this office and it beinga success.
” Kosterf also has several St. Louisanss he leans on for advice, input and as soundintg boards. Among his local confidants, he cites Tom executive director ofCivic Progress; John AT&T Missouri’s vice presidentt for external affairs; and developera Steve Stogel of DFC Group and Paul chairman and CEO of . And though Kostetr has spent the past 15 yearsz living in the KansasCity area, he grew up in Universityt City and maintains close personal and professional ties in St.
“It’s important he understand that companies that have a lot of exposuree may have more incidents of customer but what is important is how companies responr tothose customers,” Sondag said of Koster. “Thed more communication he haswith companies, the quicke r some issues can be resolved, and his officre will have more influencw and be more effective.”