Jessica Stuart, a 42-year-old woman from Thomaston, has been sentenced to an additional 10 months in prison for violating the conditions of her supervised release. This follows her previous convictions and imprisonment for health care fraud and identity theft offenses. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford.
Stuart's fraudulent activities involved impersonating a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) despite lacking the necessary qualifications or formal training in applied behavior analysis for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Between May 2019 and September 2020, she worked with Helping Hands Academy, LLC, a Bridgeport-based provider of services to children diagnosed with ASD. During this period, Stuart earned at least $146,000 through fraudulent claims submitted to Medicaid for services she was not qualified to provide. Her actions resulted in Medicaid incurring losses amounting to approximately $369,439 due to over 1,900 fraudulent claims related to 12 children with ASD.
In October 2021, Stuart pleaded guilty to charges of health care fraud and using false identification in connection with health care fraud. She received a sentence of 27 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay full restitution. She was released from federal prison in April 2023.
However, in January 2025, Stuart faced new legal troubles when she was arrested by Bristol Police for allegedly misusing a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits card belonging to a resident at the Bristol Adult Resource Center (BARC), where she had been employed. BARC provides services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities requiring full-time care. Further investigation revealed that Stuart also improperly collected state unemployment benefits after starting work at BARC in June 2024 and failed to notify the U.S. Probation Office about her contact with Bristol Police.
Since January 23, 2025, Stuart has been detained in federal custody.
The initial investigation into Stuart's fraudulent activities was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang prosecuted the case.