Fraud-Focused Funds Targeted at Children with Autism – NBC 6 South Florida

For many families of children with autism or other developmental disorders, access to treatment such as behavioral therapy (ABA) is critical.

Federal investigators tell NBC6 Investigates that these sources have been targeted for fraud in recent years.

“There was a certain group of individuals who attempted to circumvent the process by which individuals could become licensed therapists, particularly in South Florida,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Fernando Porras of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS/OIG) in Miami.

HHS/OIG investigators shared video footage with NBC6 Investigates that they say shows a woman cheating on a test to become a registered behavioral health professional and provide services.

“It’s clear she’s talking to someone in the room,” Porras said of the video, in which a man can be heard telling Grisel Farinas, the woman taking the remote exam, not to look at him. At one point, the man can be seen standing next to her in the video.

“I paid someone $2,000 to help her do the test and that person essentially did the test for her,” Porras said.

What they didn’t know is that the testing center was recording the session and the video would become evidence against Farinas, who eventually pleaded guilty in 2022 to one count of health care fraud.

According to researchers, it started with a tip about people cheating on virtual exams.

After testing centers were forced to close during the pandemic, they saw a spike in the number of people passing the test when they were allowed to take it remotely.

According to investigators, it was part of an attempt to make money.

“They pay them a significant amount of money to help them get tested,” Porras explains. “Then they may or may not connect them with providers who also work with these individuals.”

According to court documents, after being hired by a provider, Farinas allegedly provided services to two boys who were Medicaid recipients. In just a few months, she was billed more than $128,000 to Medicaid for hours of therapy that investigators say she did not provide.

Detectives conducted surveillance at the home and said Farinas stayed inside for an hour or two, but in reality charged much more.

“Ten hours a day, five days a week, holidays, summer, no breaks,” Porras said.

And according to investigators, even the mother of the two boys received bribes.

“She got paid to enroll her two children,” Porras said.

Medicaid figures from 2023-2024 show that of the $1.5 billion paid for ABA services in Florida, more than half was paid in Miami-Dade County.

According to researchers, fraud in Florida was so rampant that companies stopped remote testing in March 2021.

For mothers like Krystal Janet, any form of fraud with these services only makes it harder for families.

She says her 7-year-old son JJ was diagnosed with autism and a speech delay when he was 15 months old. She describes ABA therapy as life-changing.

“We depend on it for everything,” Janet said, “from toileting to feeding to socializing.”

But it wasn’t easy to get her son the help he needed.

““We were able to afford it through the grants that were offered, and we qualified for it, and we fought for it,” she explained. “It’s really hard. And our children, in general, can’t stand up for themselves.”

She says this fraud not only deprives government programs, but also future generations of the help they need and deserve.

““You are cheating families, you are cheating children, vulnerable children,” she said, “… and it’s just not fair.”

Farinas was sentenced to a month in jail and ordered to pay back all amounts billed to Medicaid. She told NBC6 Investigates by phone that anyone can make a mistake, adding that she was not the only one involved and that she was punished for it.

No one else has been charged in the case. In court records, prosecutors said Farinas agreed to cooperate with the investigation but proved to be an unreliable witness.