A Simsbury man was arrested today and charged with stealing more than $6,000 from patients who thought they were paying debts owed to a Hartford hospital.
ROBERT CATALANO, age 58, of 18 Alder Road, Simsbury, was arrested by Inspectors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney on a warrant charging him with six counts of Larceny in the Second Degree of a person age 60 years old or older.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Catalano continued to collect debts for St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center after the Hartford hospital terminated his company’s contract to provide debt collection services.
In January 2016, St. Francis filed a complaint with the state Department of Banking against Catalano and his company, American Billing & Collections Inc., of Newington. The banking department subsequently referred the case to the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney for criminal investigation, the warrant states.
Catalano is accused of collecting and keeping for his personal use more than $6,000 from patients and/or their spouses after St. Francis terminated his contract. The victims were age 60 or older at the time they made the payments, the warrant states.
Catalano was released on a $6,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court, G.A. 15, on July 24, 2019. The charges are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Larceny in the Second Degree of a person age 60 or older is a Class C felony punishable by not less than one year or more than 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, on each count.
The Statewide Prosecution Bureau is prosecuting the case. The Department of Banking and Saint Francis Hospital assisted with the investigation.