TennCare Fraud charges dropped against Global Outreach Developments founder, wife
Charges of theft and TennCare fraud filed against the husband and wife team behind the Christian community Global Outreach Developments International were dismissed last month in court.
Gregg and Tara Garner were accused in March 2021 of defrauding the state's Medicaid program when they allegedly failed to report business income that would have disqualified family members from receiving health insurance benefits. The program paid more than $18,000 in healthcare services, according to a news release at the time.
The couple was accused of receiving unreported income from Hopewell Family Care, the California food truck and Music City Handyman, all of which is connected to the Garners and the address registered for Global Outreach Developments International.
Previous coverage: Global Outreach Developments founder Gregg Garner and his wife indicted on TennCare fraud charges
From 2020: Sumner couple charged with TennCare fraud, hid marriage, state says
The charges were dismissed late last month.
Efforts to reach District Attorney Glenn Funk's office or the Garners were unsuccessful. The Garner's attorney, Bill Ramsey, said Tuesday evening that the charges were dropped by Funk's office.
"These charges ended up being not well-founded," Ramsey said. "The District Attorney's office is very ethical. They looked at the evidence we had and said 'you're right,' and they did the right thing and dropped the charges."
Garner started Global Outreach Developments International in the late 1990s to make food deliveries to underprivileged people in Southern California. During that time, Garner met his future wife.
In 2000, the couple moved the ministry to Nashville.
Contact Tennessean reporter Kirsten Fiscus at 615-259-8229 or KFiscus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KDFiscus.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Global Outreach Developments founder, wife dismissed of fraud charges
