East Hartford woman charged with double-dipping from Medicaid caregiver programs

ROCKY HILL — An East Hartford woman is accused of double-dipping into state Medicaid programs.

Carmen Rivera-Rivera, 52, was arrested last week by inspectors from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and charged with health insurance fraud and first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community.

The Personal Care Assistant Waiver (PCA) program and Adult Family Living Waiver (AFL) program are Medicaid-funded programs meant to help people with severe disabilities stay in their homes. Duties include preparing meals, helping with personal hygiene and doing household chores.

On May 20, the fraud control unit received a complaint that Rivera-Rivera, an employee of the AFL program, had enrolled in the PCA program and was being paid by both programs for providing services to the same person, an arrest warrant says.

Rivera-Rivera initially told investigators she did not know she was being paid by both programs, the warrant says. Investigators, however, found that she transferred funds between two checking accounts, indicating she was aware of the prohibited double-dipping, the warrant says.

"The review identified concurrent service overlap between June 25, 2025 and October 9, 2025," the warrant says. "Total amount of overlapping reimbursement during the concurrent service period is $18,202.98."

Rivera-Rivera was released on a $25,000 non-surety bond and was scheduled to appear at state Superior Court in Manchester Thursday.

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