Bridgeport Woman Gets 2 Years for Medicaid Scam

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Toshirea Jackson, 50, of Bridgeport, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced today to 24 months imprisonment for her central role in a brazen Medicaid fraud scheme that bilked the system out of millions. U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden also ordered Jackson to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term and pay a staggering $2,496,618 in restitution.

Federal prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Sheldon and Auditor Susan Spiegel, detailed how Jackson, along with Juliet Jacob, operated two Bridgeport businesses – Transitional Development And Training (TDAT) and It Takes A Promise (ITAP) – as fronts for the fraudulent activity. Beginning in January 2012, the pair allegedly billed Medicaid for psychotherapy services that were never rendered, exploiting the system with calculated precision. The scheme relied on the unauthorized use of Medicaid provider numbers belonging to two licensed health care providers employed by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). These providers were completely unaware their credentials were being used to falsely inflate billing claims.

The fraud deepened with the involvement of Nikkita Chesney, an employee at a Bridgeport substance abuse treatment facility. Court documents reveal Chesney began stealing the personal identifying information – including Medicaid numbers, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth – from vulnerable patients. Jackson and Jacob then weaponized this stolen data, submitting fraudulent claims to Medicaid as if TDAT and ITAP had provided legitimate services. Jackson admitted the scheme involved the theft of information from over 150 Medicaid clients, successfully defrauding the system for approximately half of those identities.

The scope of the operation is staggering. Jackson confessed to not only stealing identities but also billing Medicaid for services never provided to any clients. The brazenness of the scheme, coupled with the exploitation of vulnerable individuals seeking treatment, paints a grim picture of calculated greed. Judge Bolden’s hefty restitution order signals the severity of the financial damage inflicted by Jackson and her co-conspirators.

Jackson pleaded guilty on December 13, 2018, to one count of health care fraud and was released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing. She is now required to report to prison on July 12, 2019. Her accomplices are also facing consequences: Juliet Jacob pleaded guilty to health care fraud on October 18, 2018, and Nikkita Chesney pleaded guilty to health care fraud and aggravated identity theft on October 23, 2018. Both await sentencing. Five other individuals have already been charged and convicted as a result of this and related investigations.

U.S. Attorney John H. Durham, whose office spearheaded the prosecution, praised the collaborative efforts of the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Connecticut Attorney General’s Office also assisted in the investigation. Durham specifically thanked the Connecticut Department of Social Services for identifying the fraudulent scheme and supporting the prosecution. This case highlights the ongoing work of The Medicaid Fraud Working Group, a multi-agency task force dedicated to combating health care fraud in Connecticut.

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