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 property sales completed in August 2023.
Federal and state authorities allege that from January 2016 through October 2020, Ntchana and IPS improperly billed government health programs for services not rendered, used unlicensed providers, and submitted upcoded or duplicative claims. According to the announcement:
"Ntchana and IPS caused false claims to be submitted that listed Ntchana as the rendering provider when, in fact, those services were not actually provided. This included claims billed by Ntchana for impossible numbers of hours per day; when Ntchana was not physically present, including when he was out of the country, on vacation, or not in the office; for patients who were hospitalized or deceased; and for having a staff member call in a medication refill without Ntchana’s interacting directly with the patient or the patient’s medical record. Ntchana and IPS created false medical records or had no medical records for such visits."
The statement further noted:
"In addition, Ntchana and IPS caused false claims to be submitted that listed Ntchana as the rendering provider when, in fact, the patients were seen by an individual with no qualified health professional license or medical qualifications. Ntchana and IPS also caused false claims to be submitted for both evaluation and management visits and psychotherapy during the same visit when, in fact, Ntchana had only provided evaluation and management services during that visit."
To resolve these allegations under federal and state False Claims Acts laws—designed to combat fraud against government healthcare programs—Ntchana and his entities will pay $614,427.51 plus interest. The amount reflects their assessed ability to pay.
As part of the settlement terms with the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), Ntchana and IPS have agreed to a two-year suspension from all DSS-administered programs. They are barred from reapplying for reinstatement into Connecticut Medicaid or any other state-funded program after this period.
The investigation involved several agencies: Office of Inspector General for Health & Human Services; Connecticut Attorney General’s Office; Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad; and Connecticut Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Gruber prosecuted the case alongside Assistant Attorney General Rick Porter.
Authorities said their findings stemmed from an analysis of Medicare claims data. Individuals suspecting healthcare fraud are encouraged to report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS.
