CT woman allegedly used IDs of dead person, ex-employee to defraud Medicaid

Hartford Courant (CT)

A Connecticut business owner has been charged with submitting over $400,000 in fraudulent claims to Medicaid, officials said.

Saruka S. Prima, 33, of Rocky Hill, was arrested Wednesday by inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and charged with one count of first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, one count of health insurance fraud and two counts of first-degree identity theft, according to a statement from the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.

Between April 2019 and July 20, 2023, Prima owned 2 Sisters Inc., a licensed Connecticut home care provider, and Global Care Companion & Homemakers, a licensed personal care services provider, which were enrolled in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program to provide personal care, homemaker and companion services, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

The investigation revealed that Prima allegedly used the personal identifying information of a dead person to submit claims to the Department of Social Services in the amount of $124,000.20, the warrant affidavit said. Prima also allegedly used personal information from a past employee to submit claims totaling $259,144.83 for Personal Care Assistance services not provided by the former employee and submitted claims totaling $38,594.02 for services she did not provide to clients who were either hospitalized or in extended care facilities, according to the warrant affidavit.

In all, Prima’s claims totaled $421,739.05, the warrant affidavit said.

Each count Prima is charged with is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, the DCJ said.

Prima was released on a $250,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on March 26, according to the DCJ.