Call Center Company in Greensboro, NC

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Contact: Ben Conroy (984) 383-9038

RALEIGH – Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced that Jasmine Hoyle of Winston-Salem pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud and one count of money laundering for defrauding the NC Medicaid program of more than $6 million in taxpayer money.

“This business owner stole millions from our state’s Medicaid program for services she never completed and used the money for personal gain,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “When people break the law and misuse government funds, NCDOJ and our state and federal partners bring them to justice.”

Hoyle owned and operated two businesses in Winston-Salem called Harvest & Consulting Services, LLC and The Ultimate Sacrifice. Both received Medicaid reimbursements for services that were not performed, including significant quantities of urine drug tests. Between August 2020 and July 2022, Harvest Focused submitted 97 claims to Medicaid for urine drug tests for a Medicaid beneficiary who had no connection to either of Hoyle’s businesses. Hoyle used the stolen funds to make personal purchases, including a Dodge Challenger.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place on July 31 at 9:30 a.m. in Greensboro before United States District Judge William L. Osteen, Jr. At sentencing, Hoyle faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, a period of supervised release of up to three years, and monetary penalties. ​

The Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation Division, North Carolina Attorney General’s Office-Medicaid Investigations Division, Department of Health and Human Services–Office of Inspector General, and the United States Postal Inspection Service ​investigated this case and Assistant United States Attorney ​Ashley Waid​ and Special Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Spillman prosecuted the case.

About the Medicaid Investigations Division (MID)

The Attorney General’s MID investigates and prosecutes health care providers that defraud the Medicaid program, patient abuse of Medicaid recipients, patient abuse of any patient in facilities that receive Medicaid funding, and misappropriation of any patients’ private funds in nursing homes that receive Medicaid funding.

To date, the MID has recovered more than $1 billion in restitution and penalties for North Carolina. To report Medicaid fraud or patient abuse in North Carolina, call the MID at 919-881-2320. The MID receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $8,453,116 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $2,817,703 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of North Carolina.

###

Ace Flagg, born just one minute before Cooper, has carved out his own winning path.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Everyone knows Cooper Flagg — the Duke basketball superstar and projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

But, have you been introduced to his twin brother — Ace?

Ace Flagg, born just one minute before Cooper, has carved out his own winning path — one filled with fierce competition, cross-country moves, and three state championships in three different states.

Greensboro Day School is a powerhouse in North Carolina high school basketball, racking up six state championships since 2015.

The winning culture is exactly what drew Ace to the program for his senior season while his twin brother Cooper took his talents to Duke.

Ace helped lead Greensboro Day to its 13th state title in February and added his name to the program’s legacy.

“I had a great time with all the guys on the team. We had a really special group this year,” Ace said. “So, I really enjoyed that this year. I mean, [the] highs whenever you end your high school career with a state championship, that’s pretty special, so I think that was just a moment I’ll keep forever.”

The Flagg twins grew up in Newport, Maine, where their competitive fire was first sparked during heated driveway matchups.

“We couldn't play a game in our driveway without someone bleeding. It was terrible. I mean, every single time, there would be fist fights,” Ace said.

Around seventh grade, Ace says he realized he had a future in basketball. After winning a state championship at Nokomis Regional High School, the twins transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida for their sophomore and junior years.

Cooper moved up a year and headed to Duke early. Ace went his own way, choosing Greensboro Day for his final high school season.

Ace Flagg’s collection of state championships stretches across three states—Maine, Florida, and North Carolina. Each victory strengthens his claim as the better twin.

“It's a great feeling, just to know that I'll hold that over my little brother all day for the rest of my life, and you know he just won't be able to get it back, so that's on him,” Ace said.

Ace is heading back up north after high school. He’s committed to playing at the University of Maine.

The bond between the brothers runs deeper than basketball.

“We’ve never really been that sentimental about the game, and we don’t sit down after we play and have talks about it, what we thought we should have done better or worse,” Ace said. “We’re still talking, we’re playing video games together, we’re just FaceTiming, talking about other stuff that’s going on. I’d say a lot of our talks kind of stay away from basketball with each other, and just [are] a lot more personal.”

Though this will be the first time the twins are in different states, Ace won’t be alone. His older brother Hunter will be at the University of Maine with him.

“It's going to be an adjustment. Luckily, now that Cooper will be somewhere else, I'll have my older brother Hunter, who I haven't been around. He'll be at the University of Maine with me, so kind of come to just switching off brothers for a little bit,” Ace said.

For now, Ace and the Flagg family are in San Antonio, supporting Cooper and the Blue Devils in their chase for a national title.

While Cooper may be on the biggest stage in college basketball, Ace remains confident that he still has the upper hand in one-on-one.

“They called me the ‘Cooper-Stopper’ at Montverde. That's what my name was. Any time we played, I would always get a stop on him,” Ace said.

Pollen levels in the Piedmont Triad hit record highs, affecting air quality and increasing allergy cases.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The pollen levels are at an all-time high.

The Piedmont Triad hit the highest numbers ever for grass pollen in March, according to the North Carolina Division of Air Quality. WFMY News 2 spoke with experts about the trend and if pollen levels could be getting worse.

"As we get into the warmer seasons, the Spring, we start getting trees to bud and so we start out with the tree pollen and then we start getting the grass pollen as the grass turns green and starts to grow and then as we go deeper into summer, we start getting the weed pollen," said WFMY News 2 Meteorologist Ed Matthews.

The pollen is bringing more patients to Novant Health Physician Assistant Chelle Jeffery.

She says many complain of extra mucus production.

"Sometimes it's an irritant. Sometimes we're actually allergic, but in either way we end up with swelling of our mucosa along our respiratory tract and lots of extra mucus production, so we might have itchy, watery eyes, stuffy nose, runny nose, postnasal drainage, throat irritation, sore throat, cough," said Jeffery.

Grass pollen starts in March, but the numbers so far this March, at 21 grains per cubic meter of air, are the highest since readings began in 1999, the NC DAQ reports.

The Forsyth County Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection monitors pollen levels and air quality. Despite the pollen levels, the air quality has been green so far.

"We've been collecting pollen on 37 days beginning February 10th, and about half of those days have had levels that were high," said Minor Barnette, Director of The Forsyth County Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection.

Allergy sufferers beware because pollen levels aren't going anywhere.

For the latest numbers, day to day, you can check The N.C. Division of Air Quality issues pollen readings on X as well as the pollen readings report.

UNC-Greensboro jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the second inning but scored only once over the next seven innings, allowing NC State baseball to overcome the early deficit and win 9-6 Tuesday night from the Doak.

After a scoreless first, NC State (19-10) scored runs in the second, third, seventh, and eighth innings to propel them to their 14th win at home and fifth midweek victory. It was the seventh time this year that NC State rallied to win.

Leading the Wolfpack offense was Josh Hogue, who finished 4-5, scoring twice and finishing with two RBIs. Brayden Fraasman hit a three-run home run to kickstart the offense, his team-leading sixth of the season, and Ty Head added three runs batted in to go along with two more walks for 34 on the season.

Jaxon Lucas (1-0) earned his first win of the season and second of his career after coming on in relief. Lucas went 2.2 innings, allowing just one hit, a walk, and three strikeouts. Andrew Shaffner has his best night in a Wolfpack uniform, going a career-high 4.1 innings, allowing one run on two hits, two walks, and struck out a career-best seven batters.

Cooper Consiglio got the start for NC State after a scoreless first; he had trouble in the second, allowing five runs on four hits, finishing with two strikeouts.

The five-run lead would not last long; two walks in the bottom of the second, both of which came home to score on a first-pitch home run from Fraasman, cut the deficit to 5-3.

In the third inning, NC State tied the game on three hits. Chris McHugh led off with a single, and Hogue doubled to put runners on second and third. In 3-1 hitters count, Head singled to right field, bringing in both base runners to tie the game.

In a 5-5 game, UNCG pitcher Rob Ready (1-3) gave up the lead to take home the loss. Ready went three innings, giving up one run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

The Wolfpack stole three bases in the game. In the fourth, after a Luke Nixon walk, he swiped second and put himself in a scoring position. Hogue, in a 2-2 count, found a hole up the middle for a single, scoring the speedy Nixon easily for the first lead of the game for the home team, which they would not give up the rest of the way.

After NC State added an insurance run in the seventh, the Spartans had their chances to even the game in the eighth. Two singles with nobody out put runners on base, and they moved into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt. A ground out to second made it a one-run game. With two outs, a man on third, Shaffner ended the threat with a strikeout.

A leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth came around to score for NC State as another Hogue single pushed it back to a two-score game before Justin DeCriscio executed a sacrifice bunt for the Pack's ninth run.

Shaffner would send the Spartans down 1-2-3 in the ninth with two more strikeouts to give him his team-leading third save of the season.

UP NEXT: NC State is now prepared to host Virginia for a conference series beginning on Friday, April 4th, at 6 p.m. Games one and two will be broadcast on ACCNX, with the third game being nationally televised on ACC Network at 3 p.m.

Featured Top Story Editor's Pick

Julien Vicard has worked as a baker at 227-B S. Elm St. for more than 15 years. He still works there, but now he’s the bakery owner.

Vicard, a native of France, opened Breakfast in Paris two weeks ago in this spot right in the middle of downtown but down a quiet alley.

He didn’t mean to open so soon. “I was fixing it up. I still am fixing it up. But people were banging on the doors, asking for bread,” he said.

The reason people were banging on the door may have to do with the fact that Greensboro lovers of European bread and pastries know Vicard well.

In fact, he has been using the Breakfast in Paris name for about five years – even though he didn’t have a retail bakery. Instead, he has been selling his croissants, sugar brioche and more to appreciative regulars at the Corners Farmers Market in Greensboro on Saturday mornings.

The road to opening the bakery, though, has been long and winding.

Vicard, 58, was born in the French Alps. “My house was right on the (Swiss) border,” he said.

At age 23, just after completing his compulsory military service in France, he came to the United States, where a good friend was an exchange student at Clemson University – and where he met his wife.

Vicard didn’t enroll himself – he had already completed his culinary training in France. And for a couple years he went back and forth between the United States and Europe.

Once married, though, he stayed in the United States, first taking a job managing Stax restaurants in Greenville, S.C. He was considering a baking job at Disney World in 2003 when he learned about an opening in a popular Greensboro bakery and café called Ganache (now closed).

Vicard worked at Ganache a couple of years and then had stints at Rendezvous in Oak Ridge and Bistro 150.

Other gigs included Piedmont International Bakery and Bestway.

His first encounter at 227 S. Elm was when it was called Loaf, and he was hired primarily to train other bakers and get the place up and running. (Loaf opened in 2011; another bakery, Simple Kneads had been there since 2002.) After Loaf, Table on Elm took over in 2016 and Baked Downtown in 2019. Vicard worked with all three of them in some capacity.

During the last few years of Baked, Vicard was using the space mainly to bake for his farmers market customers. When Baked’s owner decided to close and start a family, Vicard decided to take it over.

“I already had all my equipment in here. I didn’t want to move,” he said with a laugh.

Vicard plays with tradition a tiny bit, but he’s definitely a European baker.

“I use all European flour,” he said, “and I use European butter.”

His five staples of bread are baguettes, pain de levain, country boule and brioche, and French sourdough – the latter he bakes in a loaf pan in a concession to American tastes.

On the weekends, he often bakes other flavors, such as cheese, walnut and rosemary.

Loaves run $5 to $6. Pastries run $4 to $6.

Croissants dominate his pastry selection, and he makes several flavors: butter (plain), chocolate, almond, cream cheese-raspberry and more.

He also makes cinnamon rolls, macarons, and several types of Danish.

For fun, he might fill a croissant with spinach and feta, or with sausage and mustard.

Then there’s the sugar brioche – as rich (or maybe richer) as it is sweet.

“In a café in Paris, when you order a standard basket for breakfast, you get a butter croissant, chocolate croissant and sugar brioche,” Vicard said. “That’s why I called the bakery Breakfast in Paris.”

The shop also sell espresso, tea and other beverages. There’s only one table inside – underneath a handful of French people kissing on the streets of Paris. “That’s the French kiss section,” Vicard said.

There also are a handful of tables outside in the alley – a peaceful respite from Elm Street.

Vicard said the bakery has been busy. He fills the case at 7 a.m. and it’s often practically empty by 10 or 11.

“Everything is handmade. Everything is fresh daily,” he said.

The one exception is on Mondays. “I call that baker’s choice. Anything we had left over during the week is flash frozen. Then I sell it (at a discount) on Mondays. It’s like day-old on Mondays. A lot of the college students come in on Mondays. They love it.”

Though he finally has his own retail location, Vicard plans to continue selling at the Corner Farmers Market, too.

“I have my Corner Market family,” he said. “I will never give that up. I love those people.”

[email protected]

336-727-7394, @mhastingsWSJ

0 Comments

Satisfy your cravings

With our weekly newsletter packed with the latest in everything food.