A Florida man has been sentenced to just over a year in prison for his role in defrauding New Hampshire Medicaid. Erik X. Alonso, 55, of Miami, was sentenced to one year and one day after he admitted to causing psychotherapy sessions to be fraudulently billed.
Court documents show that Alonso had previously been convicted in 2015 for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and related offenses in the Southern District of Florida. Following this conviction, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) placed him on an Exclusion List barring him from receiving payment from federal health care programs such as Medicaid.
Despite being on this list, Alonso began working for a telehealth mental health provider based in New Hampshire in March 2022. He provided services that were billed to New Hampshire Medicaid patients, fully aware of his exclusion status. In some cases, Alonso also caused claims to be submitted for counseling services that were not provided as represented; at times he requested and received help from patients with personal tasks instead.
Alonso admitted responsibility for causing New Hampshire Medicaid to pay approximately $173,998 through false and fraudulent claims. He pleaded guilty on October 23, 2025, to one count of health care fraud and was ordered at sentencing to pay $173,998.83 in restitution.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office resolved a parallel civil matter with LifeWorks Counseling Associates, PLLC—the telehealth provider—and its owner Dr. David Ferruolo. They paid $300,000 to settle allegations under the False Claims Act related to improper billing for services provided by Alonso while he was excluded from the Medicaid program.
“U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan for the District of New Hampshire, Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of HHS-OIG, and Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks of the FBI Boston Field Office made the announcement.”
The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Vicinanzo of the District of New Hampshire along with Trial Attorneys Thomas D. Campbell, John W. Howard, and Danielle H. Sakowski from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
