Federal investigators accuse Charlotte community activist Cedric Dean of exploiting homeless people to defraud Medicaid out of millions of dollars. Dean used the money to buy homes, cars and fund his lifestyle, feds said, and now they’re moving to seize those assets.
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Dean has been well-documented through the years and founded “Sons Against Violence Everywhere.”
He’s also a self-proclaimed homeless advocate and helped youth stay away from violence.
Dean has bought single-family homes to turn into group homes and ran a program at a hotel where he said he tried to provide food, shelter, and treatment to people in need.
But Dean is accused of taking advantage of the system and people.
Dean obtained Medicaid information from people at homeless shelters and turned it into money for himself, court documents said.
Dean used millions of dollars he obtained fraudulently, feds said. They said he used that money for houses and vehicles, and they now want to take them away.
Now the federal government wants to hold Dean accountable.
In June, Channel 9 met to do an interview in front of the community activist’s house on Youngblood Road in the Palisades neighborhood.
Months later, the FBI paid a visit to that home on Thursday.
Investigation at home on Youngblood Road in southwest Charlotte
They want the government to seize it saying he bought it with money tied to a healthcare and Medicaid fraud scheme.
Feds said they spoke to eight witnesses who either worked or lived in one of Dean’s properties. They told investigators that he and his workers would get Medicaid information from people living on the street or in homeless encampments.
Dean used that information to submit claims for services that were not provided, the feds said. In one case, they said he claimed to have provided 54 services for someone who was dead.
Cedric Dean Holdings billed the Medicaid program at least $14.5 million from September 2024 to June 2025 and received nearly $9 million, investigators said.
Some of the money was routed to accounts that were used to pay for cars and houses.
Chopper 9 Skyzoom captured investigators on Thursday at two properties owned by Dean.
The houses included the Youngblood property, a house on McChesney Drive in the Highland Creek area.
Investigation at home on McChesney Drive in northeast Charlotte
Two more homes in Shelby are also listed as Dean’s properties.
Feds are trying to seize them now along with five vehicles and all the cash in the bank accounts where the Medicaid money was held.
Feds are also pointing out Dean’s income. He earned a total of $167,000 between 2018 to 2024.
However, Dean’s income increased to about $10,000 per week last fall and winter.
Dean has not been charged. That investigation is still ongoing. Channel 9 reached out to Dean Thursday but have not heard back.
Dean’s past
Dean has already spent more than 28 years in prison in two separate convictions.
At age 16, he was convicted of robbery and spent five years in state prison.
He was later convicted of selling crack cocaine and spent time in federal prison before being released in 2017.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested Dean in May for misdemeanor breaking and entering but the report noted he has been charged with previous violent and property crimes including assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
Earlier this year, a woman and her baby died while staying at the north Charlotte hotel he operated.
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Dean said the death was the fault of a previous manager’s responsibility.
He also used a Fayetteville hotel to help the homeless, which was shut down due to permit issues.
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Medicaid fraud
Medicaid fraud can be easy to commit, because the Medicaid office presumes all claims are accurate.
Typically, a person hands over their Medicaid information at a doctor’s office or treatment center.
That provider is supposed to give treatment and then sends the bill to Medicaid.
Medicaid then sends money to the doctor’s office or treatment center to reimburse them.
In Dean’s case, feds said the people were not getting the treatment.
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