Armand Ntchana, an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse formerly based in Connecticut and now residing in Alexandria, Louisiana, has agreed to pay over $600,000 to settle allegations of submitting false claims to Medicare and Connecticut Medicaid. The settlement was announced by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Ntchana is the principal member and owner of Integrated Procare Services, LLC (IPS), a psychiatric medication management practice in Wethersfield. He also owned Brookside Residential Care Home, LLC and Riverview Residential Care Home, LLC, which operated state-funded residential care homes in Danbury and New Haven respectively. Control of these facilities ended in 2022 and 2023, with their properties sold in August 2023.
According to federal and state authorities, from January 2016 through October 2020, Ntchana and IPS improperly billed for services not rendered, services provided by unlicensed individuals, as well as upcoded or duplicative claims. Authorities allege that false claims were submitted listing Ntchana as the provider when he was not present or available—sometimes while out of the country or on vacation—and for patients who were hospitalized or deceased. In some cases, staff called in medication refills without patient interaction or proper medical records.
Authorities further allege that unqualified individuals saw patients while claims listed Ntchana as the provider. Additionally, both evaluation/management visits and psychotherapy were billed during the same visit when only evaluation/management services were provided.
To resolve these allegations under the federal and state False Claims Acts, Ntchana and his entities will pay $614,427.51 plus interest. They have also entered into a Suspension Agreement with the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), suspending them from all DSS-administered programs for two years with no opportunity to reapply for Medicaid or other state-funded programs afterward.
“This matter was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, and the Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit,” according to officials. “This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Gruber, and by Assistant Attorney General Rick Porter of the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General.”
The investigation began after a review of Medicare claims data revealed irregularities. Authorities encourage anyone suspecting health care fraud to report it at 1-800-HHS-TIPS.
