Woman Ordered To Pay $1.3 Million In Health Care Fraud Case: Feds

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A city woman has been sentenced to seven months in prison for her role in identity theft and health care fraud scams, according to a statement from federal prosecutors. Nikkita Chesney, 46, will also serve three years of supervised release.

According to the statement, in May 2012, Chesney was employed by a substance abuse treatment provider. She was approached by Toshirea Jackson who suggested she steal the personal identification information of Medicaid clients who were patients of her employer.

The personal identifying information included the patients’ Medicaid identification number, Social Security Numbers and dates of birth.

The fraud scheme involved two businesses, Transitional Development And Training (TDAT) and It Takes A Promise (ITAP), both located at 360 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport, which provided social and psychotherapy services, according to the statement.

The stolen identity information was then used to bill Medicaid for psychotherapy services purportedly provided by the providers, when the Medicaid clients had never received any such services.

Chesney has admitted that she stole the identity information of more than 150 Medicaid clients, and that she and her co-conspirators successfully billed Medicaid for approximately half of those clients, according to the statement.

Chesney was ordered to pay restitution of $1,369,654.57.

She pleaded guilty in October 2018 to one count of health care fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.