Brookfield Counselor Defrauded Medicaid Of More Than $1M: Feds

BROOKFIELD, CT — A Brookfield mental health counselor admitted to defrauding Medicaid of more than $1 million, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.

Gregory C. Banks, 50, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to health care fraud Monday before a U.S. District Judge in Hartford.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Banks owned and operated North East Counseling & Trauma Services and Gregory Banks Counseling, LLC. North East Counseling & Trauma Services, which had an office in Danbury, provided counseling services to individual patients, including those with mental health and trauma issues.

Banks was enrolled individually as a behavioral health clinician provider in the Connecticut Medicaid Program, but North East Counseling & Trauma Services and Gregory Banks Counseling LLC were never enrolled as providers in Medicaid.

Between January 2018 and July 2022, Banks submitted and caused to be submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid for counseling services that were purportedly provided to Medicaid clients, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Specifically, Banks submitted claims for dates of service when no services of any kind had been provided to the Medicaid clients identified in the claims.

In October 2020, the Connecticut Department of Social Services audited Banks and his businesses and requested documentation from Banks for six sample clients. In response, Banks made multiple false statements for the purpose of delaying the progress of DSS’s audit and to conceal his offense, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. As an example, the Feds cite an incident in February 2021, when they say Banks sent an email to DSS falsely representing that one of the files DSS requested was destroyed by a water leak, when in fact no such water leak had occurred.

Through this scheme, Banks defrauded Medicaid of $1,044,387.08. As part of his plea, Banks has agreed to pay full restitution.

Banks was released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing, which was scheduled for March 13, 2023. At that time, Banks faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.