Local doctor to pay $658K for health care fraud, officials say

A psychologist, who operates out of her home office in Greenwich, reached a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments to resolve allegations that she received payments from Medicare and Medicaid for services that were not provided, officials said.

Dr. Evelyn Llewellyn agreed to pay $658,294, which covers the period from November 2014 to February 2020, according to U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.

"Misuse of public health care dollars undermines public trust and depletes vital support for patients in need," Tong said in a statement.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Llewellyn and her husband, Dr. Michael Lonski, had separate psychology practices out of their home offices in Greenwich. Lonski was responsible for submitting reimbursement claims to insurance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for services they both provided.

The government alleged that Llewellyn received payment for claims, which her husband submitted to the programs, that were not provided, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Lonski pleaded guilty to health care fraud in federal court last year. The U.S. Attorney's office said he fraudulently billed insurance providers for nearly $2.7 million for services not provided, including for patients who were dead.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

Anyone with knowledge of suspected fraud or abuse in the public health care system is asked to contact the Attorney General's Government Program Fraud Section at 860-808-5040 or by email at ag.fraud@ct.gov; the Department of Social Services fraud reporting hotline at 1-800-842-2155, online at www.ct.gov/dss/reportingfraud, or by email to providerfraud.dss@ct.gov, or by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS.