AUTISM THERAPY FIRM BASED IN FORT LAUDERDALE UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION OVER BILLING PRACTICES

A fast-growing multi-state autism therapy firm based in Fort Lauderdale has acknowledged that it is under a federal investigation over its billing practices and is “working” with investigators.

ABA Centers of America, whose growth and financial fortunes rocketed to national prominence in less than six years after its founding in 2020, has been under scrutiny since early 2025 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in New Hampshire, where a federal magistrate allowed investigators to scour the emails and other electronic communications of founder Christopher M. Barnett and multiple upper-echelon company officials.

An 81-page federal affidavit submitted to a New Hampshire federal magistrate seeking access to executive Microsoft accounts of various  ABA executives indicates agents are investigating possible offenses including alleged false statements relating to health matters, wire fraud, healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and transacting in criminal proceeds. Prosecutors listed in the court filings are attached to the fraud section of the U.S. Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington who are working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Concord, New Hampshire.

“We are aware that the federal government is investigating the company,” Maria Isina Areco, director of public relations for ABA Centers and its parent, ICBD Holdings, said  in an emailed statement to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “We are working with federal investigators and will respond at the appropriate time.”

The federal investigation has not resulted in any criminal charges against any business or person thus far.

According to an agent’s affidavit, the focus is on alleged fraudulent billing of healthcare benefit programs “for medically unnecessary services purportedly rendered in the District of Massachusetts, District of New Hampshire, and elsewhere by submitting claims that misrepresented the place of service, rendering provider and medical necessity of the services.”

The affidavit adds that the company, through an affiliated  billing arm, “additionally billed for services that did not qualify as legitimate medical treatment, such as when a client is napping or watching television. ABACA provided these purported therapy services based not on medical necessity, but based on an internal rating system which categorized child and teenage patients based on the potential profits that ABACA can earn from that patient’s health insurance …”

Investigators, the affidavit shows, have interviewed multiple former ABA employees, as well as patients. The conversations, for example, led investigators to conclude that ABA Centers of America billed services provided in Massachusetts as though they were provided in New Hampshire. The reason: The insurance plans in New Hampshire reimbursed at higher rates than the plans in Massachusetts.

Between records and interviews, according to the affidavit, investigators also concluded that the founder, Barnett, “used the ill-gotten proceeds from this fraudulent billing to make extravagant purchases to support a lavish lifestyle, such as luxury automobiles.”

He acquired a corporate jet, the affidavit asserts, and leased a multi-million dollar waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale.

Concurrent civil litigation

ABA Centers of America is also locked in civil litigation with Publix Super Markets and its insurance plan, Publix Super Markets, Inc. Group Health Benefits, according to court documents and published reports.

ABA originally sued the supermarket chain in a Florida state court alleging it was owed millions in unpaid claims. Publix responded with a counterclaim in federal court in the Middle District of Florida, alleging a scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The Publix complaint, which is seeking approximately $15 million in damages., described ABA Centers as a company that held itself out as a provider of high-quality autism therapy to families with children on the spectrum. But it alleges the firm actually produced large unjustified claims.

The litigation involving Publix was moved in late 2025 to the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale and assigned to U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal. Recently, the judge allowed the bulk of the Publix case to proceed, allowing six of nine counts in the lawsuit to stand. He gave ABA lawyers from the Greenberg Traurig law firm until Oct. 16 to respond.

“Before the court is a civil case that could also be brought as a criminal action,” Singhal wrote in an order dated Aug. 28..

“Plaintiffs — an employer and an insurance plan — allege that healthcare provider Defendants committed insurance fraud,” he said. “Plaintiffs allege that Defendants submitted inflated bills to Plaintiffs and intended Plaintiffs to calculate the amount owed under the insurance plan based off the inflated amounts, even though Defendants never intended to collect significant portions of those totals from the employee Plan Members who received treatment.

“For example, if Defendants submitted a bill for $1,000 for a 15-minute appointment, and the insurance plan required Plaintiffs to pay 60% and Plan Members to pay 40%, Defendants would only collect the $600 from Plaintiffs and then a de minimis amount from Plan Members. The $1,000 billed total was false — Defendants only intended to collect a little over $600. What Defendants wanted was for Plaintiffs to believe they owed $600 and pay that amount, thinking that Plan Members were also going to pay their required portion of these bills. The Plan Members, of course, never raised an issue with the bills since they did not have to pay. Plaintiffs paid almost the entirety of what Defendants collected, when they should have paid far less. Plaintiffs allege fraud. The Court has not been advised as to whether there is a concurrent criminal case pending.”

Similar civil litigation is continuing in a Massachusetts state court between ABA Centers and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Point32Health Services. ABA first sued, alleging nonpayment of claims. In late 2025, the Point32 subsidiaries filed an amended counterclaim against ABA and a related entity, Integrative Healthcare Services. They’re seeking more than $19 million for an alleged “far-reaching scheme” to defraud the companies.

College walks away from $55M pledge

The criminal investigation’s existence was initially reported by a Substack (online publishing outlet) called “Reinforcement & Ruin” authored by Samantha Parnham, a certified behavioral health analyst who operates her own small practice in Oregon. Thus far, the Substack consists of a six-part series summarizing the federal investigation as outlined in court records, as well civil litigation against ABA Centers of America brought by health insurers.

The publications Behavior Health Business and Acuity Media, the latter of which focuses on the regulation, technology and mergers in the behavioral health industry, have also chronicled emerging legal developments

Despite the investigation’s existence for well over a year, word of it apparently did not reach Barnett’s undergraduate alma mater, Temple University of Philadelphia, until early September. The year before, the school had accepted a $55 million pledge from Barnett for its school of public health.

In a salute to Barnett for pledging the largest gift in Temple’s history, the school re-named the university’s College of Public Health to the Christopher M. Barnett College of Public Health.

But in a campus-wide letter last month, Temple President John Fry and Board Chair Mitchell L. Morgan announced that the university and Barnett “mutually agreed to terminate his $55 million philanthropic commitment that was announced in October 2025.” Up until the decision, no money had been paid toward the pledge, the university said.

They added that the name recognition for Barnett on the building had been called off.

A Temple media relations executive did not respond to emailed questions from the South Florida Sun Sentinel about the school’s break with Barnett.

But in their letter, the university leaders said Barnett “strenuously” denied any wrongdoing. Without going into detail, they also said he was dealing with a “life-threatening” medical issue.

The letter did not elaborate.

The company has not responded to questions from the Sun Sentinel about the state of Barnett’s health, or whether he is still overseeing the company he founded.

A ‘disruptive’ business model

Established in 2020, ABA Centers of America’s revenue surged to the top of various ranking lists of small companies. In 2024, for example, it came in No. 5 on the Inc. 5000. Last year, it was ranked No. 25 on the national list, and it was No. 15 on a Southeast regional list.

Barnett, a self-described serial entrepreneur, worked in real estate prior to entering the healthcare field, exiting during the housing crash of 2008. Besides his political science degree from Temple, he also holds a law degree from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, according to published biographies. The Florida Bar website, however, does not list him as a member.

Healthcare became his next point of interest. His present-day enterprise was built from within, from the ground up.

According to a Florida Trend profile, a company he founded called GateHouse Treatment, a behavioral healthcare center in Nashua, New Hampshire, “became the cornerstone of what would eventually become ICBD Holdings — the Fort Lauderdale-based holding company that today controls ABA Centers, Curative AI, Exact Billing Solutions, and several other ventures.” ICBD is headquartered at 110 E. Broward Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.

The profile reported ABA had more than 2,000 employees at centers in more than 10 states, although industry publications have reported layoffs and the closure of some facilities this year.

At the community level, Barnett has been active in support of children. This year, he was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County’s Alumni Hall of Fame. While a child, he was a “Club Kid” in Lauderhill, according to a news release. In 2024, he was named to the board of directors of the Memorial and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital foundations.

In its recent statement to the Sun Sentinel, the company described its business model as “disruptive to the status quo.”

“We always knew that our business model is disruptive to the status quo and upends current business models for both providers and payors,” the company said. “It is also important to note that this investigation does not appear to be focused on the quality of the care that we provide.”

The statement characterized the treatment of autism as a healthcare industry segment “that is both fast growing and fast changing. We work hard every day to address the evolving industry standards and best practices.

“We have always been guided by our mission to deliver life-changing outcomes for people with autism, and their families, and a number of principles that are fundamental to it.  First and foremost, we are committed to getting children off waiting lists where they often languish for far too long,” the statement added.  “We understand the importance of early treatment and believe deeply in individualized care programs where the level (and type) of care is determined by data.  As our company grows and matures, we have continued to increase our investment in staff training on compliance and documentation of our work.”

Centers in South, Central Florida

Published reports and company statements show that ABA Centers started adding locations in Florida under the ABA Centers of Florida banner in 2022 in Port St. Lucie. Centers followed in Jensen Beach, Tamarac, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Orlando.

The company noted that ABA has helped “diagnose and treat thousands of children on the autism spectrum. Our approach embraces best practices and the highest standard of care, beginning with an assessment that utilizes the best clinical tools available to the profession.”

“A plan of care is then developed by a clinician — a treatment plan that is individualized, data-driven and science-backed,” the statement said. “That treatment plan establishes the amount of care needed for each client on a weekly basis, and the specifics of their treatment to maximize the clinical outcome. Our care decisions are guided by the treatment plan, which is implemented by a dedicated team of providers.  We present the treatment plan to health care payors for authorization, and we provide care that has been authorized by the payor. Health insurance plans only pay for what has been authorized.”

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