Brookfield Mental Health Counselor Sentenced After Defrauding Medicaid

BROOKFIELD, CT — A Brookfield mental health counselor has been sentenced after pleading guilty to defrauding Medicaid of more than $1 million.

On Monday in Hartford, Gregory C. Banks, 50, was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for health care fraud.

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 patients 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 made claims to Medicaid for counseling services that were purportedly provided to Medicaid clients. Following an audit by the Connecticut Department of Social Services investigation in October 2020, and after making several false statements, Banks admitted no services of any kind had been performed on the dates submitted, according to the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut.

Through this scheme, Banks defrauded Medicaid of $1,044,387.08. The court has ordered him to pay full restitution.

Banks, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on Sept. 8.