This guy oughta get his head examined

no longer operative

Twice? He did this before?!!!!

Old Greenwich psychologist pleads guity to health care fraud, $2.7 million stolen.

GREENWICH — A local psychologist pleaded guilty Monday to health care fraud, after he fraudulently billed insurers for nearly $2.7 million for services he never provided  —  including for patients who were dead, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Michael Lonski, 71, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 10 and faces up to 10 years in prison on the charge.

Lonski is a licensed psychologist who runs a practice out of a home office in Old Greenwich along with another psychologist, who the U.S. Attorney's Office did not identify.

Both were authorized to provide services through the state Medicaid program, which helps low income people pay for health care costs, and Medicare, the federal health care benefit for older adults.

"Lonski assumed responsibility for submitting claims for reimbursement for services allegedly provided by himself and by (the other psychologist), both at their home office and at various skilled nursing facilities within Connecticut," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

When reached on Tuesday, Lonski referred questions to his attorney, who did not return a message seeking comment.

By pleading guilty, Lonski admitted he billed insurance providers "for services that he knew were not rendered, including by billing for patients who were deceased, for dates of service when he was out of the country, for dates of service when (the other psychologist) was out of the country, and for dates of service when he was hospitalized." 

The total cost of the fraud amounted to more than $2,651,296, including $1,157,292 through the state Medicaid program and $119,092 through Medicare. 

In 2002, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, Lonski paid $4 million in restitution to settle a lawsuit brought by federal authorities in the Southern District of New York that alleged other health care fraud. He had been excluded from Medicare from 2003 to 2007, but was reinstated in the program in late 2008, the office said.

And, it turns out, it’s been a busy time for our town’s crooks and perverts

GREENWICH — A local man was arrested on child pornography charges Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. 

Christopher Bates Jr., 36, was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography after investigators discovered an IP address at his home had been used to view images and videos depicting child sexual abuse on the dark web, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Bates appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was released on $300,000 bond under electronic monitoring, the office said.

Bates consented to a search of his electronic devices when interviewed by agents with Homeland Security Investigations on Nov. 30, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. While a full forensic examination of the devices is not complete, one of his laptops was found to contain around 1,000 images depicting child sexual abuse, the office said. The featured children allegedly included infants. 

I’d say Master Bates is in deep caca. (Gideon has just texted me to point out that “all guys named Bates will thank you for reminding them of their school days”. I like to do my part.)

Back to the defalcating doctor for a moment, I mentioned in a comment last week that a buyer’s rep should always do an internet search on a seller because you never know what will turn up that might explain a seller’s motivation to move. I don’t know whether such a search would have run across the indictment or arrest of this man back in 2020, but he did place his house at 112 Shore Road on the market in early January 2021 and sold it for his full asking price of $2.450 million. It had an appraised (by the town) value of $2,577,500, and 2021 was a hot market. It never hurts to look.