Behavioral Health Companies and Physician-Owner Agree to Pay $1.4 Million for Allegedly Billing for Psychotherapy Services that Clinicians Did Not Perform

BOSTON - Behavioral health clinics, Nova Psychiatric Services, P.C. (Nova), Patriot Eldercare, Inc. (Patriot), and the president and director of Nova and Patriot, Alexandra Accardi, M.D., have agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve allegations that they fraudulently billed government health insurance programs for psychotherapy and medication management services, in violation of the False Claims Act.

As part of the settlement agreement, Nova, Patriot and Accardi admitted and accepted responsibility for certain facts providing the basis for the settlement. Nova and Patriot (collectively also known as Prime Behavioral Health) are behavioral health clinics with office locations in Quincy and Weymouth, Mass. Dr. Alexandra Accardi is a psychiatrist and the founder and owner of Nova and Patriot.

Between Jan. 1, 2017, and May 18, 2023, Nova and Patriot billed Medicare, Medicaid and the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) for medication management and psychotherapy services that behavioral health clinicians did not perform. Nova's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Miguel Saravia, directed independent contractors separate from the companies' billing departments to alter claims before their submission to Medicare, Medicaid and GIC by adding billing codes for additional psychotherapy and medication management services that the Nova or Patriot behavioral health clinicians had not performed. Nova and Patriot employees repeatedly raised concerns to Accardi and Saravia about these billing practices, but Nova, Patriot, Accardi and Saravia made no changes to these billing practices.

In September 2024, Saravia was charged with six counts of healthcare fraud related to his directing the independent contractors with no billing or medical training to submit false claims to health insurance programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and GIC, on behalf of Nova and Patriot. The charges concerned some of the same fraudulent billing resolved by the civil settlement announced today. Saravia subsequently pleaded guilty to the charges and, on March 26, 2025, was sentenced to 3.5 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay $561,141 in restitution.

The claims resolved in today's settlement include claims that were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States and Commonwealth of Massachusetts ex rel. Jessica Spissinger and Matthew Peculis v. Nova Psychiatric Services, P.C., et al., No. 19-cv-11137-ADB. As part of today's resolution, the relator will receive 17.5% of the settlement amount.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Sharobem and Lindsey Ross of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the matter.