Substance Abuse Counselor Charged with Health Care Fraud

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Alan Emmett Bradley, 56, of Norwalk, Connecticut and Ocoee, Florida, was arrested yesterday in Florida on a federal criminal complaint charging him with one count of health care fraud. The criminal complaint alleges that Bradley billed the state of Connecticut Medicaid program for hundreds of services that he did not render.

As alleged in the criminal complaint, Bradley, a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor, obtained the Medicaid cards of various Medicaid clients and used the cards to submit hundreds of claims to Connecticut’s Department of Social Services. The claims alleged that Bradley performed 75- to 80-minute individual psychotherapy sessions to these Medicaid clients at his office in Norwalk. Hundreds of these counseling sessions did not occur and, for many of them, Bradley was actually living and attending school in Florida.

The Connecticut Medicaid program is a joint federal-state program designed primarily to finance the provision of medical services to the indigent. It is administered in Connecticut by the Department of Social Services, and is also supervised by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service.

Following his arrest Thursday morning in Ocoee, Bradley appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in Orlando, Florida and was released on a $50,000 bond. Bradley was ordered to appear in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport on or before May 31, 2012.

The charge of health care fraud carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Fein stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Ahearn.

U.S. Attorney Fein encouraged individuals who suspect health care fraud to report it by calling the Health Care Fraud Task Force at 203-777-6311 or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.