Psychologist Jeannie Pasacreta Arrested, Charged with Medicaid Fraud

September 18, 2018

A Newtown psychologist has been charged with bilking Medicaid out of thousands of dollars for services she never performed.

Jeannie Pasacreta, 61, of Abbey Lane, Newtown, was arrested Monday by inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and charged with one count each of first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, health insurance fraud and first-degree identity theft.

She was released after posting $150,000 bond pending arraignment in Hartford Superior Court on Oct. 3.

Calls to Pasacreta’s office were not returned.

Pasacreta, a licensed psychologist and advanced practice registered nurse, is the owner of Integrated Mental Health Services. The practice operates out of her Newtown home and offers counseling to patients with mental, behavioral and emotional disorders, according to her website.

The investigation was initiated by a complaint to the state Attorney General’s Office from a former employee of Pasacreta’s Integrated Mental Health Services practice that the doctor received “very large” payments from Medicaid even though she “barely works” and was “constantly canceling” appointments with patients, according to court documents.

A subsequent investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found that over a two-year period beginning in 2016, Pasacreta billed Medicaid for hundreds of claims for services that were never rendered, the documents state.

The court documents allege that Pasacreta misused patients’ personal information to bill for appointments on dates when the patients were out of the state or out of the country. The fraudulent claims involved 15 patients and totaled $79,418.77.

Source: "Newtown psychologist charged with Medicaid fraud," ctpost.com, URL: https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Newtown-psychologist-charged-with-Medicaid-fraud-13236297.php, September 17, 2018