Shelton man who defrauded Medicaid program avoids jail

A Shelton man who claimed to be caring for his uncle while working as a Greenwich police officer will not face jail time after pleading guilty to cruelty to persons, state officials said.

The charge stems from a Medicaid fraud investigation into Michael Mastronardi, who authorities said was billing for time spent assisting an aging uncle when he was actually working at the Greenwich Police Department.

Greenwich officials did not immediately respond Friday about whether Mastronardi is still a town police officer.

After his arrest in 2019 on charges that included first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, Greenwich police said he was placed on administrative leave. A spokesperson for the department noted the charges were not related to Mastronardi's work as a police officer.

A warrant for Mastronardi's arrest also charged him with conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, health insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit health insurance fraud. State Medicaid fraud investigators alleged Mastronardi used his elderly uncle to claim $50,000 in fraudulent wages from Medicaid.

Mastronardi, 49, pleaded guilty to the cruelty to persons charge under the Alford doctrine. The legal mechanism allows a person to plead guilty without admitting guilt if they concede the state has enough evidence to convict them.

Judge David P. Gold sentenced Mastronardi to three years, a sentence that was suspended, in addition to three years of conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay $57,278.24 to the Department of Social Services in restitution for the Medicaid program and was ordered "not to act as a provider in the Medicaid program," and to have no new arrests.

"An investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit determined that between August 2014 and April 2019, Mastronardi was enrolled as a provider in the Personal Care Assistance (PCA) program, a federal and state funded Medicaid program," the state Division of Criminal Justice said in a news release.

The program allows PCAs to assist people who have permanent disabilities with daily living.

Investigators determined Mastronardi "had been billing for years claiming to have been providing services to a severely injured recipient, who was unable to care for themselves without physical assistance," the release said.

But investigators found "numerous overlapping dates and times" Mastronardi was supposedly providing services when he was actually working at the Greenwich Police Department, the release said.

The warrant said that over six years, five other PCAs filed complaints against Monstronardi. They claimed he was never seen helping his uncle in any professional capacity, but was instead "seen stopping by to visit," "talking on the phone" or running errands and taking trips with the Medicaid, the warrant said.