MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — A Middletown man who lived a lavish lifestyle funded by nearly $1.9 million stolen from Medicaid has been sentenced to six and a half years in federal prison, officials said.
Ramon Apellaniz, 40 — who used the aliases “Kristopher Rockefeller” and “Kris” — was described by prosecutors as a “relentless and unrepentant fraudster” who launched a new Medicaid scam while already facing charges for another, according to court records.
Apellaniz pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Prosecutors said he founded Minds Cornerstone Behavior Therapy Services, which billed Medicaid for more than 22,000 fake behavioral therapy sessions for children with autism between 2021 and 2025.
To hide his involvement, Apellaniz placed Suhail Aponte of Wethersfield as the company’s public face while directing operations from behind the scenes — even while serving a state prison sentence for a previous health care fraud involving the Gemini Project.
Aponte also pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing February 12, 2026, court records show.
Federal prosecutors said Apellaniz used the stolen funds to finance luxury travel and designer goods, including:
$13,000 on trips to Paris and London
$8,000 on a private jet
$4,000 on Beyoncé and Usher concert tickets
$10,000 on a diamond bracelet
He also spent heavily at Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Rolex, and stayed in hotels such as The Plaza in New York and W London.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang said in his sentencing memo that Apellaniz’s “flagrant disrespect for the law” warranted a serious penalty to promote respect for the justice system and deter future fraud.
Andrea Barton Reeves, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services, also urged the court to impose the maximum sentence, citing the defendant’s repeat offenses while already charged in a prior case.
Prosecutors are seeking $1.88 million in restitution and forfeiture of $459,200 in seized assets.
