WETHERSFIELD, CT — A Wethersfield woman has admitted to federal officials that she helped defraud the state's Medicaid program of more than $1.8 million.
Marc H. Silverman, acting U.S. attorney for Connecticut, said Suhail Aponte, 38, of Wethersfield, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport to a health care fraud offense related to a Medicaid fraud scheme.
Silverman said Aponte pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison.
Aponte has been released on a $100,000 bond since her arrest Jan. 16.
The Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CTMAP) is a Connecticut Department of Social Services-administered program that provides medical assistance to low-income clients.
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CTMAP benefits, referred to as “HUSKY” or “Connecticut Medicaid,” are jointly funded by the state of Connecticut and the federal government.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Aponte was the sole principal and registered agent of Minds Cornerstone LLC, dba Minds Cornerstone Behavior Therapy Services (“Minds Cornerstone”).
The group is an autism specialist group, which was registered with the State of Connecticut in June 2021.
According to Silverman, beginning in November 2021, Aponte, who is not a licensed provider, was involved in a scheme in which she and a co-conspirator used Minds Cornerstone to defraud the Connecticut Medicaid Program.
He said they did so by submitting fraudulent claims for applied behavior analysis services to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The scheme involved billing for Medicaid for services purportedly rendered to patients when company payroll records indicate employees were not compensated for the services, Silverman said.
He said other fraudulent practices were:
• Billing for direct supervision services purportedly provided by a board-certified behavior analyst of a behavioral technician, when the corresponding procedure code for behavioral technician services was not billed.
• Billing for services purportedly rendered to patients who were actually in an inpatient hospital.
• Billing for services purportedly rendered when parents of patients and former employees of Minds Cornerstone confirmed that those services did not occur.
According to Silverman, between November 2021 and January 2025, Aponte and her co-conspirator submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid fraudulent claims costing the program $1,876,617 to the state Department of Social Services.
From approximately May 2022 until November 2024, Aponte was also employed by the State of Connecticut in the Office of Policy and Management.
Silverman said, as part of her plea, Aponte agreed to forfeit about $459,000 in funds seized from various bank accounts she controlled and her interest in additional bank accounts and two parcels of land in Hartford.
She is scheduled for sentencing on July 30.
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