FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Rocky Hill, CT) - A New Canaan man was arrested today and charged with submitting fraudulent claims to Medicaid for services that were not rendered.
Andrew R. Golden, age 55, of Avalon Drive East, New Canaan, was arrested today 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 in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-122(a)(3), and Health Insurance Fraud in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-442.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Golden is a licensed professional counselor, listed as an individual practitioner and 100% owner of his Stamford practice. Between January 2020 and July 2022, Golden billed for behavioral health counseling sessions that were not rendered. Evidence acquired during the investigation showed Golden was not meeting with clients as reported. However, he was submitting claims to the Department of Social Services for payment. The investigation concluded that Golden fraudulently billed Medicaid and received an amount of $80,328.19 in Medicaid payments he was not entitled to receive.
The money profited by Golden in the amount of $80,328.19 constitutes the crime of Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community. The submission of claims to the Department of Social Services by Golden containing false, incomplete, deceptive or misleading information constitutes the crime of Health Insurance Fraud.
Golden was released on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court, G.A. 1, on December 29, 2023. 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 Health Insurance Fraud are each classified as a B felony and punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The case will prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received in this investigation from the Connecticut Department of Social Services’ Office of Quality Assurance, the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General – Office of Investigations and the Stamford 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 Office of the Chief State’s Attorney at (860) 258-5986.