Marlenin Vito, Medicaid Fraud, Connecticut 2024

Medicaid Fraud Scheme Exposed in Connecticut

A federal grand jury in New Haven, Connecticut, has returned a 17-count indictment against Marlenin Vito, a 45-year-old woman from Waterbury, charging her with fraud offenses related to Medicaid fraud schemes.

According to the indictment, Vito was employed as a Medicaid Coordinator at an assisted living facility in Stamford, referred to as "Company A," from approximately 2018 to May 2021. Her responsibilities included assisting residents in applying for nursing home level Medicaid reimbursements, monitoring patient trust accounts, and ensuring compliance with Medicaid regulations.

However, it is alleged that Vito defrauded Company A and its residents by generating checks from Company A's system, forging a fellow employee's signature on the checks, and negotiating the fraudulent checks to give the cash proceeds to certain residents, keeping the cash for her own use. Vito also made false entries into Company A's accounting ledger by debiting the fraudulently obtained cash from the residents' respective trust accounts.

Many of the residents were not healthy enough or mentally capable of tracking their own expenses or monitoring the balances of their own trust accounts. In certain instances, Vito cancelled residents' supplemental health insurance coverage, but continued to deduct funds from the trust accounts and took the funds for herself.

The indictment also alleges that Vito took fraudulently generated checks drawn on Company B's bank account, forged the signature of an authorized employee on the checks, cashed the checks, and kept the funds for herself. She then recorded the fraudulently negotiated checks in Company B's books and records as "Petty Cash."

Vito is charged with five counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, and 12 counts of bank fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years on each count. The indictment alleges that Vito stole a total of more than $200,000 through these schemes.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Stamford Police Department and Hartford Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry.

U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Vito appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $25,000 bond.

Defendant: Marlenin Vito

Criminal Charges: 5 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of bank fraud

City and State: Waterbury, Connecticut

Exact Date: October 22, 2024

Sentence or Outcome: Released on a $25,000 bond, charged with 17 counts of fraud offenses

Dollar Amount: $200,000

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/indictment-charges-waterbury-women-fraud-offenses