70-Year-Old From Windsor Gets Probation in Medicaid Fraud Case

WINDSOR, CT — A 70-year-old woman from Windsor will be on probation for a while in a $2 million Medicaid fraud case.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut; Phillip Coyne, special agent in charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; and Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane announced Wednesday that Beverly Coker, 70, of Windsor, was sentenced a day earlier by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to five years of probation for defrauding Connecticut’s Medicaid program.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Coker owned and operated New Beginnings Family Center, a behavioral health practice with an office located in Hartford.

In May 2010, Ronnette Brown, of Bristol, and another individual approached Coker and proposed a collaboration with Coker's practice, according to case documents.

Under the proposal, Brown and the other individual would provide services to children and families through We-MPACT, a social services practice they operated in Bristol, prosecutors said. Coker was to provide supervision to Brown and the other individual, for which Coker would be paid 30 percent of the proceeds, they said.

Coker knew that Brown and Sharpe were not licensed to provide psychotherapy, but understood that they were working toward becoming licensed, according to prosecutors.

Although Coker never provided supervision to Brown and the other individual, she submitted claims to Medicaid for psychotherapy services provided to We-MPACT’s clients using her provider number, according to prosecutors.

Pursuant to their agreement, Coker paid Brown and others at We-MPACT approximately 70 percent of the amount of money she received from Medicaid, according to prosecutors.

Beginning in January 2011, Brown and the other individual began billing Medicaid directly using Coker’s provider number, according to prosecutors.

Coker ended her relationship with We-MPACT in November 2011, case records indicate.

Through the scheme, Coker and Brown defrauded Medicaid of approximately $214,555, according to prosecutors.

On April 8, 2016, Coker pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud.

Last May, a jury found Brown guilty of 23 counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, stemming from the scheme and related fraudulent billing of Medicaid for psychotherapy services that were not performed.

On April 19, Judge Bolden sentenced Brown to 48 months of imprisonment and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $2,033,962.

Three other individuals have been charged and convicted of health care fraud offenses stemming from the investigation, according to prosecutors.

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