Story Copyright Westfair Communications
Two separate high-profile cases of Medicaid fraud have resulted in charges against a Greenwich police officer and a prison sentence for the former co-owner of a social services company in Bridgeport.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State”™s Attorney has charged Michael Mastronardi with fraudulently billing Medicaid $57,278 for work as a provider in the agency”™s Personal Care Assistance (PCA) program between August 2014 and April 2019. The unit alleged that Mastronardi was working as an officer in the Greenwich Police Department when he was allegedly providing the services in question. Mastronardi was released on a $100,000 nonsurety bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Aug. 21 to face charges for 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.
In another development, Juliet Jacob, the former co-owner of the social and psychotherapy services companies Transitional Development and Training and It Takes a Promise, both at 360 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport, was sentenced to one year and one day followed by three years of supervised release for participating in two separate Medicaid fraud schemes.
Jacob pleaded guilty last October guilty to one count of health care fraud and a separate Medicaid fraud scheme for her role in fraudulently billing Medicaid for services that were never provided. Jacob also participated with two others in a scam that involved the theft of personal identification information of Medicaid clients, which was then used for additional fraudulent billing purposes.
Jacob, who was also ordered to pay $ 2,711,173 in restitution related to the two schemes, is required to report to prison on Sept. 20.
