A Shelton man was arrested today and charged with billing the Medicaid program for work as a personal care assistant that he never performed, including time he claimed to have put in when he was actually working as a Greenwich police officer.
MICHAEL MASTRONARDI, age 45, of Blueberry Lane, Shelton, was arrested by Inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and charged with one count each of Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community, Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community, Health Insurance Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Health Insurance Fraud.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Mastronardi was an enrolled provider in the Personal Care Assistance (PCA) program, a federal and state funded Medicaid program that allows eligible participants to hire others to assist with their daily care.
Between August 2014 and April 2019, Mastronardi billed Medicaid and was paid for PCA services that he did not provide, including time during which he was working as a Greenwich police officer, the warrant states.
He was paid about $57,278 for false claims, the warrant alleges.
Mastronardi was released on a $100,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court, G.A. No. 14, on August 21, 2019. The charges are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Larceny in the First Degree By Defrauding a Public Community and Conspiracy to Commit Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community are class B felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Health Insurance Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Health Insurance Fraud are unclassified felonies punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
The case will be prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It remains under investigation at this time and additional arrests are expected. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received in this investigation from the state Department of Social Services Office of Quality Assurance and the Rocky Hill Police Department.