New London Counselor Pleads Guilty To Medicaid Fraud: Prosecutors

NEW LONDON, CT — A former East Lyme resident and New London counselor has pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicaid of more than $695,000, according to a statement from Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Jeffrey Slocum, 55, of Johnstown, PA waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of health care fraud and one count of violating the federal anti-kickback statute.

Slocum was a licensed counselor with an office on State Street in New London. Medicaid audited Slocum's practice in 2020 and found that he had received $225,000 in payments from Medicaid for services he hadn't documented, according to the statement.

Medicaid told Slocum it would begin to collect the overpayment by deducting the funds in installments from future payments Medicaid would make to Slocum.

Once Slocum learned he would have to pay the money back, he began submitting fraudulent claims to Medicaid for psychotherapy services that he never provided, according to the statement.

Slocum admitted in his plea that from March 1, 2020 to Feb. 24, 2022, he submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid totaling $695,048.

Slocum also admitted in his guilty plea that he paid kickbacks to his Medicaid patients to induce them to receive psychotherapy services from him. Slocum paid these kickbacks to patients in the form of cash, money orders, and Walmart and VISA gift cards.

Slocum is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 8 and faces up to 20 years in prison. Slocum also has agreed to pay full restitution to Medicaid.