A Wethersfield therapist is accused of submitting more than $140,000 in fraudulent claims to Medicaid for counseling sessions that “were not performed.”
Ivette Betancourt, 60, was arrested on Oct. 22 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 and one count of health insurance fraud, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. Both charges are Class B felonies, which are punishable by up to 20 years in prison, the DCJ said.
Betancourt, who worked as a licensed marital and family therapist, was enrolled as a provider in the Connecticut Medicaid program. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, between October 2020 and June 2025, Betancourt allegedly billed Medicaid for therapy sessions that “did not take place.”
Inspectors interviewed patients and reviewed records for 38 of Betancourt’s 138 Medicaid patients and allegedly found “numerous claims for counseling sessions that were not performed,” the warrant affidavit said.
“Betancourt submitted claims to Medicaid for these unrendered sessions and as a result of her fraudulent billings, she received $141,087.35 in Medicaid payments she was not entitled to,” according to the warrant affidavit.
Betancourt was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Dec. 17.
The case was investigated by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. “The Unit is grateful for the assistance it received in this investigation from the Connecticut Department of Social Services, Office of Quality Assurance — Special Investigations Division, and the Newington Police Department,” the DCJ said.