Rachel Collins, 44, of Hamden, Connecticut, was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for defrauding Medicaid of over $1.6 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced on Monday.
Between January 2018 and March 2024, Collins, a licensed therapist, submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims for psychotherapy services she never provided. Despite being paid for hours of treatment, many of which were fabricated, Collins was found to have been on vacation during the periods she claimed to be working. For example, during the week of March 9 to March 16, 2023, Collins claimed to have provided about 12 hours of in-person therapy per day, billing Medicaid for $9,349.90. In reality, she was vacationing at Disney World, as documented on her public Facebook account.
Collins submitted over 17,000 false claims to Medicaid, defrauding the program of a total of $1,647,031. She used the illicit proceeds to fund personal expenses, including trips across the U.S., over 30 concert and sporting event tickets, and more than $150,000 in food delivery services. From January 2020 to May 2023, Collins was the highest-paid Medicaid-enrolled behavioral health clinician in Connecticut.
Further investigation revealed that Collins collected $41,182 in unemployment benefits between November 2020 and September 2021, while simultaneously receiving $826,355.91 in Medicaid reimbursements. U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala sentenced Collins to prison and ordered her to pay full restitution and forfeit $114,085.55 seized during the investigation.
