Hearing aid provider pleads guilty to $6M in health care fraud

A Waterbury hearing aid dealer and licensed hearing specialist pleaded guilty to health care fraud this week for billing Medicaid for fraudulent claims, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Dennis Dellaghelfa, 53, of Waterbury, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford. Dellaghelfa is a licensed hearing instrument specialist and the owner of General Hearing in Waterbury-based hearing aid dealer, according to federal authorities.

General Hearing has been a provider in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program, a Connecticut Department of Social Services-administered program that provides medical assistance to low-income patients through HUSKY or Medicaid since 2013, according to federal authorities. The program is funded by the state of Connecticut and the federal government. From June 2016 to April 2022, Dellaghelfa reportedly submitted false and fraudulent claims for payment for services and equipment that were not provided or necessary, according to court records.

In November 2018, Dellaghelfa allegedly submitted claims to Medicaid for six patients during a time that he was traveling outside the U.S. In 2019 and 2020, some of the claims allegedly involved services reportedly provided by his three employees. According to court records, Dellaghelfa allegedly knew the employees were performing hearing tests without having professional permits and submitted paperwork for hearing tests and services that didn’t happen or were not necessary, according to court records.

In addition, Dellaghelfa allegedly paid “patient recruiters” for each Medicaid patient they brought to General Hearing that failed the hearing test and received hearing aids, which is a violation of the CTMAP provider agreement. According to court records, he also allegedly submitted false claims to Medicaid for testing and hearing aids for five of the patient recruiters who did not need the hearing aids.

As part of his plea agreement, Dellaghelfa agreed to make a restitution of $6,141,857 to the Connecticut Medicaid program, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Dellaghelfa also agreed to forfeit $332,675 that is in his personal and business bank accounts.

Dellaghelfa faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He is released pending sentencing, which is scheduled for May 16, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.