(Rocky Hill, CT) – An Enfield woman has been arrested and charged with submitting false claims to the Connecticut Medicaid Health Insurance Program.
Erica Damato, 48, of Enfield, was arrested on September 9, 2025, by Inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of 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 § 122(a)(3), and one count of Health Insurance Fraud, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-442.
Damato 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 a facility and allows greater independence in a community setting.
An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found that between April 2023 and October 2024, Damato submitted billings for PCA services she claimed she had provided after the date of death of the recipient. The fraudulent money received totaled $107,198.41.
The money profited by her in the amount of $107,198.41 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 the crime of Health Insurance Fraud.
Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community and Health Insurance Fraud are each classified as Class B felonies and punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Damato is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on September 18, 2025. The charges are merely accusations and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This 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 and the Newington 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’s State’s Attorney at (860) 258-5986.