Federal prosecutors claim nine therapists have stolen over $3 million from the New York State Early Intervention Program, NBC New York reports.
The EIP provides services for children age 3 or younger with a confirmed disability or developmental delay. Some of the services include nutrition, physical therapy, occupational therapy, special instruction and speech pathology.
The therapists have been accused of stealing more than $993,000 from Medicaid and $1,998,000 from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, according to Huntington Now. The defendants were arrested and scheduled to make their initial court appearance on Oct. 26, Huntington Now reports.
“As alleged, the defendants exploited disabled infants and toddlers, the youngest and most vulnerable among us, to enrich themselves by millions of dollars,” Breon Peace, US attorney for the Eastern District, said according to Huntington Now. “This office and our law enforcement partners will continue to vigorously protect government programs from fraud and abuse that not only hurts taxpayers, but also deprives developmentally delayed children from receiving much-needed services.”
The time period in question for all the New York therapists spans from 2016-2018. One of the therapists claimed to provide EIP therapy sessions on at least 6,100 occasions phone records couldn’t confirm actually took place in the investigation, according to Huntington Now.
“These nine defendants not only stole more than $3.3 million in public funds but also robbed more than 200 New York City children of essential Early Intervention services they were entitled to receive, according to the charges,” Margaret Garnett, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) commissioner said, per NBC New York. “The City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) was instrumental in identifying billing discrepancies involving Early Intervention specialists and then referring them to DOI for further investigation.”
If convicted, the therapists face a statutory maximum of 10 years of imprisonment, Huntington Now reported.
