FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Rocky Hill, CT) – A Newington man convicted of financially exploiting an elderly resident was sentenced today in Middletown Superior Court.
The Honorable Julia DiCocco Dewey sentenced Ryan Turko, age 42, of Newington, to five years in prison, execution suspended after nine months served, with five years of probation. Turko was ordered not to act as a Medicaid provider and not to work in any facility where the elderly or disabled are being cared for, as well as any facility that receives funding from Medicaid. He was also ordered substance abuse evaluation and treatment as deemed necessary and to perform 50 hours of community service. Turko previously refunded $15,778.43 to the victim.
Turko pleaded guilty to Larceny in the Second Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statute § 53a-123, classified as a C Felony, and Identity Theft in the First Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statute § 53a-129b(a)(2), classified as a B Felony.
By being found guilty of a program-related felony, the defendant is also 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.
An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, determined that Turko, the former business manager for Portland Care and Rehabilitation Centre, also known as PCRC, improperly accessed an elderly resident’s bank account and made online withdrawals and transfers and wrote checks to himself without permission between September 2020 and February 2021. PCRC is a facility that accepts Medicaid monies on behalf of clients for services. The amount taken totaled $15,778.43.
The case was prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received in the investigation from the Portland Police Department, specifically Detective Daniel Knapp, as well as 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 $2,988,308 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.