(Rocky Hill, CT) - A Georgia woman was arrested on a Connecticut warrant by the Coweta County’s Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, and extradited to Connecticut for defrauding Medicaid for billing for personal care services she did not provide.
Brittany Gresham, age 36, of Senoia, Georgia was extradited by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and charged with one count of Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-122(a)(3), one count of Health Insurance Fraud in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-442, one count of Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-48 and § 53a-122(aa)(3), and one Count of Conspiracy to Commit Health Insurance Fraud in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-48 and § 53a-442.
Gresham was enrolled as a provider in the Connecticut Medical Assistants Program (CMAP) as a Personal Care Assistant (PCA). The PCA program is a Medicaid-funded program which provides recipients who have permanent, severe, and/or chronic disabilities, funds to hire PCAs to physically assist them with daily self-care. This enables the recipients to reside in their homes and remain in the community. The PCA program provides an alternative to entering an institution and allows greater independence in a community setting.
Investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit showed that between March 2021 to July 2023, while Gresham lived in Georgia, the co-defendant, Tywan Marion, with Gresham’s knowledge, completed a job application for Gresham and submitted time sheets on her behalf for PCA services she did not provide to a Connecticut recipient. Gresham would receive payment from Medicaid for these unrendered services and transfer a portion of the money to Marion. The fraudulent monies received from this scheme totaled $44,476.57.
The money profited by her in the amount of $44,476.57 constitutes the crime of Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community. The submissions of the claims to the Department of Social Services contained false, incomplete, deceptive, or misleading information which constitutes Health Insurance Fraud. The money profited and the false claims submitted through the agreement with another person constitute the crimes of Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community and Health Insurance Fraud.
Gresham is being held on a $100,000.00 surety bond and is scheduled to next appear in Waterbury Superior Court on May 7, 2025. Marion, who was previously arrested, is being held on a $200,000.00 surety bond. The charges are merely accusations and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All charges are each classified as B felonies and punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The case was investigated by and will be prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received in the investigation from the Connecticut Department of Social Services – Office of Quality Assurance, the Georgia Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, and the Waterbury Police Department.
The Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $2,362,872.00 for the fiscal year of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $778,620.00 for the same fiscal year, is funded by the State of Connecticut.
Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud, abuse, or neglect in the public healthcare system is asked to contact the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorneys at (860) 258-5986.