Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Suhail Aponte, 38, of Wethersfield, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to a healthcare fraud offense related to a Medicaid fraud scheme. 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, an Autism Specialist Group, which was registered with the State of Connecticut in June 2021. Beginning in approximately 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 by submitting fraudulent claims for applied behavior analysis (ABA) services to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The scheme involved billing for Medicaid for services purportedly rendered to patients when company payroll records indicate employees were not compensated for the associated services; direct supervision services purportedly provided by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (“BCBA”) of a behavioral technician, when the corresponding procedure code for behavioral technician services was not billed; services purportedly rendered to patients who were actually in an inpatient hospital; and services purportedly rendered when parents of patients and former employees of Minds Cornerstone confirmed those services did not occur. Between November 2021 and January 2025, Aponte and her co-conspirator submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid fraudulent claims that resulted in a loss of approximately $1,876,617 to the Connecticut 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.