SHELTON, Conn. (WTNH) – A Shelton man was sentenced on Thursday for defrauding Medicaid and cruelty to persons during a time he worked as a Greenwich police officer, according to the Rocky Hill Chief’s State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin.
Michael Mastronardi, 49, of Shelton pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to persons for intentionally depriving another person of proper physical care. He pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine, where a defendant pleads guilty to their charges, but expresses their innocence at the same time.
He was ordered to pay $57, 378.24 in restitution to the Department of Social Services to reimburse the Medicaid program. A judge also ordered Mastronardi to serve a three-year suspended jail sentence in addition to three years of conditional discharge.
Mastronardi was ordered not to act as a provider in the Medicaid program.
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit determined that between August 2014 and 2019, Mastronardi was enrolled as a provider in the Personal Care Assistance (PCA) program, which is a federal and state-funded Medicaid program.
The program helps recipients who have permanent, chronic, or severe disabilities with a personal care assistant to help them with their daily activities, which allows them to stay in their homes.
According to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice, Mastronardi had been billing the program for years claiming to provide services to a severely injured recipient – who was unable to care for themselves without physical assistance.
Inspectors discovered multiple overlapping dates and times where Mastronardi claimed he provided care to the recipient when he was working at the Greenwich Police Department.
The inspectors conducted interviews and surveillance, which confirmed Mastronardi was not at the recipient’s home during the overnight hours, as he claimed, officials said. Mastronardi intentionally deprived the recipient of proper physical care by leaving them unattended, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.
News 8 is working to determine Mastronardi’s employment status with the Greenwich Police Department.
Anyone with knowledge of fraud or abuse in the public healthcare system is asked to call the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney at (860) 258-5986.
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