Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, along with several law enforcement officials, announced the arrest of Ramon Apellaniz and Suhail Aponte on charges related to health care fraud. The two individuals are accused of defrauding Connecticut's Medicaid program through fraudulent claims.
The accused appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford. While Aponte was released on a $100,000 bond, Apellaniz remains detained pending a hearing scheduled for January 23.
Connecticut's Medicaid program, known as CTMAP, provides medical assistance to low-income individuals and is jointly funded by the state and federal government. According to court documents, Apellaniz previously operated The Gemini Project LLC without being a licensed provider and was charged in 2020 with larceny and health care fraud among other offenses. He pleaded nolo contendere and received an eight-year prison sentence with parole after serving 15 months.
In June 2021, Minds Cornerstone LLC was registered in Connecticut with Aponte listed as its manager despite not being a licensed provider. Allegations suggest that starting from November 2021, Apellaniz and Aponte submitted fraudulent claims for services not rendered under this entity.
Between November 2021 and December 2024, they allegedly caused over $1.8 million in losses to the Connecticut Department of Social Services through these false claims. Investigations indicate some funds were used by Apellaniz for restitution payments related to his previous prosecution.
From May 2022 until November 2024, Aponte also worked for the State of Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management.
Both defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud itself, each carrying a potential maximum imprisonment term of ten years.
U.S. Attorney Avery emphasized that these charges are allegations only and both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
The investigation is led by multiple agencies including the FBI and HHS-OIG with support from the Connecticut Department of Social Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang is prosecuting the case.
