A Meriden couple has been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution after defrauding the Medicaid program out of more than $5,000 by billing for services they did not perform.
Eugenio Ortiz, 40, and Maria Perez, 41, each faced sentencing in Meriden Superior Court on March 13 and were given three years of probation, according to the state Department of Criminal Justice. While on probation, they will each be exposed to three years in prison if they violate any conditions, the department said.
According to judicial branch officials, Ortiz and Perez were enrolled as providers in the Connecticut Medical Assistants Program as Personal Care Assistants. The program, which is operated by the Department of Social Services, assists the elderly and individuals with disabilities who can live independently at home. The program allows individuals an alternative to living in an institution.
An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found that, between January and June 2020, Ortiz and Perez were submitting timesheets for PCA services payments purportedly provided by Ortiz, officials said. Authorities learned that Ortiz was incarcerated at the time for an unrelated criminal conviction and could not have rendered any services.
According to authorities, the investigation revealed Perez was submitting the timesheets that Ortiz had signed before going to prison. During the scheme, the two received about $5,300 for services that were never provided, officials said.
Ortiz and Perez faced sentencing after each pleading guilty in December to one count of first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community and health insurance fraud.
According to judicial officials, the pair has been ordered to pay about $2,600 in restitution while on probation after already paying about $2,700. They have also been ordered not to act as providers in the Medicaid program.
