(Rocky Hill, CT) - Chief State's Attorney Patrick J. Griffin today announced that a former Danbury resident has been sentenced in Hartford Superior Court for defrauding Medicaid by submitting fraudulent claims for services he did not perform.
The Honorable David P. Gold on July 10, 2025 sentenced Bobby R. Kato, Jr., age 47, to three concurrent sentences of eight years in prison, execution of that time suspended after one year of incarceration, with five years of probation.
The defendant pleaded guilty on March 11, 2024, to one count each of Larceny in the First Degree By Defrauding A Public Community, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-122 (a)(4), a Class B felony; Health Insurance Fraud, in violation of § 53-442, a Class B felony; and Identity Theft in the Second Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-129c, a Class C Felony. The defendant also was ordered not to be a Medicaid provider during the period of probation. The defendant was also ordered to pay $25,000.00 in restitution on the day of sentencing and to pay the remaining restitution of $1,329,312.82 during his period of probation. The defendant was taken into custody upon sentencing.
By pleading guilty to three program-related felonies, the defendant also is subject to mandatory exclusion as a health care provider to certain federally funded health programs pursuant to federal and state laws and regulations. Medicaid is a government program that provides health coverage to low-income, disabled and elderly individuals, and is financed by both the federal and state governments and administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services.
An investigation by Inspectors of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney determined that between July of 2017 and December of 2020, Kato was a licensed Professional Counselor and sole owner and principal of Kato Counseling, LLC, a Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP) provider enrolled as a Behavioral Health Clinician Group. The investigation found that the defendant, billing as Kato Counseling, LLC, was paid for a total of 14,104 claims in the amount of $1,324,879.16 for psychotherapy services that were never provided. In addition, Kato Counseling was paid for an additional 316 claims for psychotherapy services provided by unlicensed individuals in the amount of $29,433.66. The total fraud was $1,354,312.82.
Bobby Kato, also known as Bobby Harrison-Kato, is a former resident of Danbury and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Nova Lux Counseling of Stamford, Connecticut and Toronto, Canada, and the Chief Executive Officer of Nexus Clerkships of Stamford, Connecticut.
The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received in this investigation from the Connecticut Department of Social Services - Office of Quality Assurance, the State’s Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General, and the New Britain 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 for the fiscal year of October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $787,620 for the same fiscal year, is funded by the State of Connecticut.
Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public healthcare system is asked to contact the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney at (860) 258-5986.