A clinical social worker, Mi Ok Song Bruining, has been sentenced to three years of supervised release following her guilty plea in a health care fraud scheme. Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced that Bruining will serve the first three months in home detention with electronic monitoring.
Bruining, 64, admitted guilt in November 2023 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud while employed as a supervisor at Recovery Connections Centers of America, Inc. (RCCA) in Providence. She was involved in defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurers out of more than $3.5 million by submitting false claims for psychotherapy sessions that did not occur as billed.
Known among colleagues as the “Five Minute Queen,” Bruining allegedly billed for 45-minute therapy sessions despite only spending five to ten minutes with patients. To support this scheme, she instructed RCCA staff to record notes indicating they provided counseling for 45 minutes without specifying start times and encouraged copying previous session notes for billing purposes.
U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy sentenced Bruining to three years of supervised release and ordered her to complete 100 hours of community service and pay $100,000 in restitution.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Miron Bloom and Kevin Love Hubbard. The investigation involved the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI, with additional assistance from the IRS, Customs and Border Protection, and the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General.
