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Attorney General Raúl Torrez Files Lawsuit Alleging Over $1.6 Million in Fraudulent Medicaid Claims and Identity Theft of Children

• August 14, 2025

Silver City, NM – The New Mexico Department of Justice and its Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Bureau have filed a lawsuit against two operators of Kids in Need of Support Services (KISS), a nonprofit afterschool program in Silver City, for a combined 91 counts of fraud and identity theft. The complaint alleges that program operators Susanne Kee and Bethanne Kee-Medran knowingly submitted at least $1,626,496 in fraudulent Medicaid claims for services that were never rendered while illegally using both adult and children’s social security numbers, falsely representing psychological disorders and more.

“The defendants in this case have been taking advantage of a system meant to help those in need, stealing social security numbers of children in their care and fabricating psychological disorders for these children in a scheme to defraud taxpayers,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “Their actions not only resulted in the theft of public funds, but it will likely require the affected children and their families to spend substantial time and resources to correct falsified medical records that could impact future employment. We intend to hold these bad actors accountable for harming the children in their care and will do everything in our power to assist victims and their families for the harm that has been caused by this criminal enterprise.”

As part of the Medicaid fraud scheme, the NMDOJ’s investigation uncovered that the pair not only submitted fraudulent claims for services to children that were never rendered, but also:

• Illegally utilized patient social security numbers of children and adults without knowledge or consent of victims or their parent/guardians
• Illegally utilized Medicaid identifier numbers of children and adults without knowledge or consent of victims or their parent/guardians
• Documented false psychological disorders to justify the ‘services’ – disorders that create fictitious health records that will follow and have a potentially-negative impact on the victims throughout their lives Kee is charged with 10 counts of fraud and 36 counts of identity theft while Kee-Medran is charged with nine counts of fraud and 36 counts of identity theft. The NMDOJ is seeking restitution, fines and penalties in the lawsuit.

Criminal Complaint and Affidavit – Susanne Kee

Criminal Complaint and Affidavit – Bethanne Kee-Medran

These complaints have been filed with the Magistrate Court in Silver City. The Court will schedule the defendants’ arraignments at a future date.
This case was investigated by the NMDOJ’s Medicaid Fraud and Elder Abuse Bureau (MFEAB). The New Mexico MFEAB receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $3,451,202 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $1,150,401 for fiscal year 2025, is funded by the State of New Mexico.

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