Press Releases
05/16/2024
Waterbury Woman Sentenced in Scheme to Defraud Medicaid
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Rocky Hill, CT) - A Waterbury woman has been sentenced for defrauding Medicaid by billing the government health insurance program for Personal Care Assistant services that she did not perform.
Adrieonna Fisher, age 30, was sentenced on May 15, 2024 in Hartford Superior Court by the Honorable Courtney M. Chaplin to 11 months in prison, execution of that time suspended, and three years of probation. The defendant paid $4,000.00 in restitution, with the remaining amount of $2,024.93 to be paid during probation, and was ordered not to act as a provider in the Medicaid program.
Fisher pleaded guilty to one count of Larceny in the Fourth Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statues § 53a-125, a Class A misdemeanor.
An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney determined that Fisher was hired in March 2015 as a Personal Care Assistant under the Personal Care Assistance Waiver (PCA) program. The PCA program is a federal and state-funded Medicaid program administered by the Department of Social Services that provides funds to allow people with disabilities to hire assistants for daily care, thus enabling the individuals to remain at home instead of being placed in a health care facility.
The defendant was hired to provide personal support services to a 55-year-old developmentally disabled man. She left the job in July 2016 but continued to bill Medicaid until November 2016 for work she never performed. The defendant falsely completed and signed thirteen (13) written time sheets totaling $6,024.93, defrauding the State of Connecticut Medicaid Program. In addition, the defendant attempted to submit two additional false time sheets, but those claims were denied.
The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received from the Connecticut Department of Social Services - Office of Quality Assurance 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 $2,988,308 for the fiscal year of October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $996,099 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 Chief State’s Attorney’s Office at (860) 258-5986.