Nicole Kasimatis got caught the first time she committed fraud. So, she tried again. And again. She tried four times to be exact. Kasimatis was first indicted in 2015 and 2018 for public assistance fraud, larceny, document forgery and uttering a false money order. She was freed on bail in order to earn back the money for restitution to her fraud charges. Restitution can be hard to complete, and to do that Kasimatis did what she knows best. Fraud. But this time it was scheme for both Medicaid and Medicare fraud!
Using her business, Fortitude Counseling and Recovery Center (recovery from fraud?), Kasimatis billed Mass Health for substance use recovery and mental health services not provided employees and for services by providers who no longer worked for her. She got paid nearly $500,000. In November 2021, she was charged with Medicaid fraud and put on house arrest.
Kasimatis did need to leave her house though to get back to court. In January 2022, Kasimatis was charged with Medicare fraud using the same scheme of billing for services not rendered. She got paid $44,000.
According to court records, Kasimatis used the money from her schemes for her personal use, including paying for international travel, Disney trips, Red Sox games, baseball camps for her children, weight loss services and even to post bail for her criminal charges.
On July 17, 2022, Kasimatis plead guilty to all charges and will be serving up to four years in prison.
Shout out to Insurance Fraud Bureau and Attorney General Maura Healey's Medicaid Fraud Division for their investigation in this case.
Today's “Fraud of the Day is based on an article posted by The Patriot Ledger, on July 17, 2022.
Owner of Quincy treatment center pleads guilty after fourth time being charged with fraud
By Mary Whitfill
QUINCY – The owner of a Quincy-based mental health and addiction treatment service was sentenced to three to four years in state prison after she pleaded guilty to defrauding public and private insurance companies, including the state’s Medicaid program.
Nicole Kasimatis, 48, of Quincy, the owner of Fortitude Counseling and Recovery Center in Quincy, pleaded guilty in Norfolk Superior Court to three counts of larceny over $1,200, two counts of filing a false health care claim and two counts of filing false Medicaid claims.
