A mental health counselor from Brookfield pleaded guilty to filing more than $1 million worth of fraudulent Medicaid claims and faces up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Gregory C. Banks, 50, of Brookfield, appeared in court in Hartford on Monday and pleaded guilty to a healthcare fraud scheme in which he defrauded Medicaid of $1,044,387 by filing false claims for mental healthcare counseling sessions. As part of his plea, he will have to pay back the full amount in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Between 2018 and 2020, Banks allegedly filed multiple fraudulent claims to Medicaid for services that he said were provided to Medicaid clients but never happened. He submitted claims for dates when the Medicaid clients received no services at all, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
During the time of the fraud, Banks owned and operated Gregory Banks Counseling, LLC and North East Counseling & Trauma Services, which had an office in Danbury and provided counseling services to individual patients, including those with mental health and trauma issues.
His businesses were never enrolled as providers in Medicaid, but he was enrolled individually as a behavioral health clinician, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
In October 2020, the Connecticut Department of Social Services audited Banks and his businesses by requesting documentation for services provided to six sample clients.
Banks made multiple false statements to the...
Over the last year, beyond traditional healthcare and federal procurement matters, the government has pursued federal False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and enforcement across high-risk areas, i...