Defendants Allegedly Defrauded the New York State Early Intervention Program Out of More
Than $600,000 Through Fraudulent Billing for Therapy Sessions that Never Occurred
A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging
Kaderrah Doyle, Cara Steinberg, Marina Golfo, Ego Onaga, Lyubov Beylina, Danielle Scopinich,
Patricia Hakim and Enock Mensah with stealing more than $600,000 in funds from Medicaid and
the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene through fraudulent billing practices
in connection with the New York State Early Intervention Program (EIP). The EIP is a New
York State program that provides remedial services to developmentally delayed children from
birth to age three. The defendants, all EIP therapists, were arrested earlier today and are scheduled
to make their initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Sanket J.
Bulsara.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,
William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York
Field Office (FBI), and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation
(DOI), announced the charges.
“As alleged in the complaint, the defendants defrauded government agencies out
of hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds designated for therapeutic care for
developmentally disabled children.” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “The victims of
this fraud include not only the children and their families who were deprived of the therapeutic
care that these defendants claimed to have performed, but ultimately the taxpayers whose taxes
support Medicaid. This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring that
those who defraud benefit programs will be held accountable.” Mr. Donoghue also expressed his
appreciation to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for its assistance
during the investigation.
“As we allege today, these defendants stole hundreds of thousands of government
dollars from a program designed to aid some of our city’s most vulnerable residents,” stated FBI
Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Rather than provide honest services, they chose to line
their own pockets at the expense of taxpayers and the developmentally-delayed children and
their families for whom these funds were targeted. Today’s arrests should serve as a reminder
that the FBI will continue to be vigilant in our effort to root out fraud and abuse in programs
intended to serve the public when these programs are corrupted by greed.”
“These eight therapists shamefully benefited by stealing hundreds of thousands
of dollars in public funds while developmentally disabled and delayed children in their care were
denied thousands of crucial therapy sessions, according to the charges,” stated DOI
Commissioner Peters. “DOI thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New
York for its prosecution of these crimes.”
According to the complaint, between approximately 2012 and 2018, the
defendants submitted thousands of fraudulent session notes and accompanying invoices for nonexistent
EIP therapy sessions. As a direct result of their fraudulent submissions, the defendants
received hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements from Medicaid and the New York
City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. On many occasions, the defendants were not
present at the place where the therapy sessions supposedly occurred, including instances in
which they were outside of New York State or even outside of the United States. For example,
Beylina allegedly submitted approximately 51 fraudulent invoices for EIP therapy sessions that
purportedly occurred when she was in the Dominican Republic. On other occasions, the
defendants submitted documentation containing the forged signatures of the children’s
caretakers, including parents, guardians, teachers and daycare providers. In other instances, the
defendants falsely claimed to have performed EIP therapy sessions for two different children at
two different locations at the exact same time. Many of the defendants also falsely claimed to
have performed EIP therapy sessions when they were, in fact, at work elsewhere, including as
full-time teachers with the New York City Department of Education.
The charges in the complaint are allegations, and the defendants are presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The Defendants:
KADERRAH DOYLE
Age: 41
Bronx, New York
CARA STEINBERG
Age: 40 Old Bridge, New Jersey
MARINA GOLFO
Age: 44
North Pelham, New York
EGO ONAGA
Age: 45
Staten Island, New York
LYUBOV BEYLINA
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New York
DANIELLE SCOPINICH
Age: 35
Ozone Park, New York
PATRICIA HAKIM
Age: 54
Forest Hills, New York
ENOCK MENSAH
Age: 58
Mount Olive, New Jersey
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