LYNDHURST -- A licensed counselor has been indicted for allegedly bilking more than $9,000 out of Medicaid for non-existent and incomplete in-home counseling and therapy sessions provided to children with autism, authorities said.
Stephanie Fleming, 38, of Lyndhurst, was charged in a 43-count state grand jury indictment on multiple counts of second-degree health care claims fraud, third-degree Medicaid fraud and fourth-degree forgery, acting Attorney General John Hoffman said in a news release.
The indictment also charges her with a single count of second-degree theft by deception because Fleming allegedly received actual Medicaid reimbursement totaling more than $9,000.
Between March 1, 2012 and July 1, 2015, Fleming fraudulently submitted documentation seeking reimbursement from Medicaid for full counseling and therapy "encounter" sessions with children, but in 21 cases she did not conduct these sessions at all. Fleming sought $6,328 in reimbursement for these "phantom sessions," Hoffman said.
In another 10 cases, she allegedly provided only partial sessions but billed for the full amount, totaling $2,712.
"Although any attempt to defraud government health care programs is unlawful and cannot be tolerated, it is particularly deplorable that this defendant allegedly billed for services provided to children with autism that she did not provide," Hoffman said in the news release. "This kind of callous program abuse costs us all."
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Fleming's alleged conduct took place while she was working for an in-home service in Morris County.
Fleming has also been charged with multiple counts of forgery for allegedly forging or falsifying the signatures of Medicaid beneficiary parents or guardians on treatment encounter forms, which is required as part of Medicaid reimbursement documentation, Hoffman said.
She's facing up five to 10 years for each second-degree crime along with a fine of up to $150,000. The third-degree crimes carry possible sentences of not more than three years in state prison, and the fourth-degree crimes carry possible sentences of up to 18 months in prison.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.