ROCKY HILL, Conn. — A 49-year-old West Hartford woman was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for Medicaid fraud, according to a release from the state’s Division of Criminal Justice.
Lorena Soto-Bunker was previously convicted of health insurance fraud last year after pleading nolo contendere. Her prison sentence includes execution of time suspended, with five years of conditional discharge; the condition is that she is not to serve as a provider in the Medicaid program.
Soto-Bunker is the owner of Where Healing Begins, a West Hartford business and wellness center on Grassmere Avenue. In 2022, she said the wellness center is community-based and designed to offer affordable mental health services, especially for those in underrepresented and marginalized communities.
However, DCJ says an investigation by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney into Soto Bunker and Alicia Thompkins, a co-defendant in the case, revealed that between September 2018 and September 2019, Soto-Bunker was not a licensed behavioral health therapist while working for Collaborative Counseling Center, LLC. The company was owned and operated by Thompkins.
The investigation reports that Soto-Bunker said she was performing counseling services for Collaborative Counseling Center. Thompkins submitted the billings to Medicaid as if she performed licensed qualified sessions. DCJ says that evidence gained during the investigation shows that Soto-Bunker was not meeting with clients as she reported and was submitting claims to Thompkins. DCJ adds that Soto-Bunker caused those false claims to be billed and paid by the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program in an amount of approximately $19,785.
In 2023, Thompkins was convicted of health insurance fraud for her role in submitting the unlicensed, unsupervised and unqualified services. After being ordered to do so by a judge, Thompkins paid $140,000 in restitution for submitting the billings for services provided by unlicensed people and for unrendered services.
According to DCJ, Soto-Bunker caused the submission of claims to the Department of Social Services, which contained false, incomplete, deceptive or misleading information, constituting the crime of health insurance fraud.
“By being found guilty of a program-related felony, the defendant is also subject to mandatory exclusion as a health care provider to certain federally funded health programs pursuant to federal and state laws and regulations,” DCJ said. “Medicaid is a program that provides health coverage to low-income, disabled and elderly individuals and is financed by both the federal and state governments.”
The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which says it is grateful for assistance it received in the investigation from the state’s Department of Social Services Office of Quality Assurance and the New Britain Police Department.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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