Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut
Jessica Stuart, 42, a former resident of Thomaston, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for violating the conditions of her supervised release. The sentencing was delivered by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford. This follows her previous convictions for health care fraud and identity theft offenses.
Court documents revealed that between May 2019 and September 2020, Stuart engaged in fraudulent activities while employed at Helping Hands Academy, LLC, a Bridgeport-based provider of applied behavior analysis services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Stuart falsely claimed to be a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and submitted numerous fraudulent claims to Medicaid for services she was not qualified to provide. Her actions led Medicaid to pay out over $369,439 on more than 1,900 fraudulent claims related to 12 children with ASD.
Stuart had previously pleaded guilty to charges of health care fraud and using false identification in connection with health care fraud. She was sentenced on October 15, 2021, to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution. After being released from federal custody in April 2023, she faced new legal issues.
In January 2025, Bristol Police arrested Stuart following allegations of misuse involving a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits card belonging to a resident at the Bristol Adult Resource Center (BARC), where she worked. BARC provides services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities requiring full-time care. Investigations also found that Stuart had improperly received state unemployment benefits after beginning employment at BARC in June 2024. Furthermore, she failed to report her contact with law enforcement promptly as required.
Since January 23, 2025, Stuart has been detained in federal custody. The initial investigation into her fraudulent activities was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang prosecuted the case.
