Ramon Apellaniz, Medicaid Fraud, Connecticut 2021

Two individuals, Ramon Apellaniz and Suhail Aponte, have been charged with defrauding Connecticut’s Medicaid program.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, Ramon Apellaniz, 39, of Middletown, and Suhail Aponte, 38, of Wethersfield, were arrested yesterday on federal criminal complaints charging each with health care fraud offenses.

The alleged scheme, which reportedly began in November 2021, involved submitting fraudulent claims for applied behavior analysis (ABA) services to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The services were allegedly provided by Minds Cornerstone LLC, a company Aponte managed and Apellaniz conspired with, despite Apellaniz not being a licensed provider.

Between November 2021 and December 2024, Apellaniz and Aponte submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid fraudulent claims that exceeded $1.8 million in losses to the Connecticut Department of Social Services.

Additionally, Apellaniz was previously charged by the state with larceny, health care fraud, and identity theft offenses related to his providing services to numerous Medicaid beneficiaries as a non-licensed provider in 2020. He pleaded nolo contendere and was sentenced to eight years in prison, execution suspended after 15 months, and five years of parole on April 17, 2024. He was released from custody on November 19, 2024.

Apellaniz and Aponte appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford, with Aponte released on a $100,000 bond and Apellaniz detained pending a hearing scheduled for January 23.

The Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CTMAP) is a program that provides medical assistance to low-income individuals and is jointly funded by the State of Connecticut and the federal government.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General.

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