One of the highest-ranking officials in Gov. Ned Lamont鈥檚 administration was involved in the decision to cancel a 2020 audit that threatened to expose how a 黑料新闻 eye doctor with powerful political connections had billed the state鈥檚 Medicaid program for procedures she never performed, documents show.
Emails and text messages obtained by The 黑料新闻 Mirror show that Deidre Gifford, the former commissioner of the Department of Social Services and current leader of the Office of Health Strategy, was involved in discussions about the state鈥檚 audit of Helen Zervas, the owner of Family Eye Care in Bristol, in the days before officials decided to abandon that probe.
Employees at Gifford鈥檚 agency were weighing whether to drop the audit in return for Zervas voluntarily repaying $599,000 to the state鈥檚 Medicaid program, according to records subpoenaed as part of a into former state deputy budget director Konstantinos Diamantis and former state Democratic lawmaker Christopher Ziogas.
Gifford is not facing criminal charges.
The documents show Gifford , even though a DSS employee informed her that circumstances surrounding the audit were 鈥渦nusual.鈥�
Gifford is .
Gifford did not respond to questions for this story. Her attorney, Thomas J. Murphy, declined to comment.
Gov. Ned Lamont鈥檚 office issued a statement to The 黑料新闻 Mirror on Wednesday evening, defending Gifford and reiterating his support for her.
鈥淭hroughout Dr. Gifford鈥檚 career in public service, including her leadership at the Department of Social Services and the Department of Public Health during one of the most challenging health crises in our state鈥檚 history, she demonstrated an unwavering commitment to ethical conduct and transparency,鈥� Rob Blanchard, the governor鈥檚 spokesperson, said.
鈥淭he governor understands that she was asked to provide information to federal authorities in connection with an ongoing investigation and that she cooperated fully and responded truthfully, as any public servant should,鈥� Blanchard added. 鈥淗owever, being asked to provide information in a federal inquiry does not imply wrongdoing. The legal process should continue to unfold without jumping to conclusions or making assumptions.鈥�
Several hours after issuing that statement, Lamont confirmed that Gifford would be stepping down from her post and .
The news of Gifford鈥檚 impending retirement was shared as CT Mirror was preparing to publish this story. CT Mirror provided the governor鈥檚 office with the records it obtained and sought comment late last week.
Gifford鈥檚 direct involvement in the abandoned audit is likely to make her a primary witness in a pending criminal trial involving alleged extortion, bribery and influence peddling at the highest levels of the 黑料新闻 state government.
Zervas, who is a licensed optometrist, over the course of more than five years. And federal prosecutors of conspiring with Zervas to undermine the 2020 audit of her practice.
The allege that Ziogas and Zervas, who are engaged, paid Diamantis $95,000 in the spring of 2020 in exchange for him advising and pressuring several 鈥渟enior鈥� state officials to drop the audit, which threatened to lay bare Zervas鈥� years of fraudulent medical billing.
The indictments that were unsealed in March did not identify the state officials that Diamantis allegedly pressured by name, although it pointed to key players by their titles and relationships.
The documents reviewed by the CT Mirror show prosecutors were keenly interested in the interactions that took place between Gifford, Melissa McCaw, Lamont鈥檚 former budget director, and John McCormick, who was the director of the state鈥檚 Medicaid audit division at that time.
Federal prosecutors seized a number of Gifford鈥檚 emails and two months of text messages from her state-issued cell phone, which included several conversations between her and McCaw.
. But one text exchange from late April 2020 included a vague reference to what was described as a 鈥渃onstituent matter.鈥�
鈥淐an you give me a call re: a constituent matter when you have time?鈥� McCaw asked Gifford on April 28, 2020.
McCaw鈥檚 use of the word 鈥渃onstituent鈥� mirrors the term that state officials used on May 12, 2020, to describe Zervas when Diamantis check to the state鈥檚 Medicaid office in Hartford on that day.
Gifford responded to McCaw鈥檚 text message the following day, and she informed McCaw that she would be available to discuss the matter that evening 鈥� exactly a week before the audit was called off, the records show.
McCaw, who is now the finance director in the town of East Hartford, did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls, as well as messages that were left at her office by CT Mirror reporters in recent weeks.
Shortly after Gifford spoke to McCaw, records show, she also discussed Zervas and her medical practice with McCormick, who had overseen the state鈥檚 Medicaid audit division for more than a decade.
The two initially spoke on the phone, according to the records. McCormick followed that call up with an explaining that the circumstances surrounding Zervas鈥� audit were 鈥渦nusual.鈥�
Gifford replied by telling McCormick that he should manage the audit like he would for any other Medicaid provider in the state.
鈥淚 do not want to intervene in this process and want you to proceed as you normally would under these circumstances,鈥� Gifford wrote.
But there was nothing normal about the political nature of Zervas鈥� case, as McCormick later explained to other DSS officials.
, McCormick told a deputy commissioner at DSS how Gifford, one of Lamont鈥檚 top appointees, had called him directly to discuss Zervas鈥� case. And he said he鈥檇 learned that Zervas had a powerful ally in the governor鈥檚 budget office, where both McCaw and Diamantis worked.
鈥淭he commissioner called me about this provider last week,鈥� McCormick told DSS鈥檚 deputy commissioner, Michael Gilbert. 鈥淭he provider has a friend at OPM.鈥�
McCormick went on to explain in that email that Zervas overcharged the Medicaid program, and he said he initially considered taking additional steps to hold Zervas accountable for the 鈥渟ubstantial overbillings.鈥�
But after further review, McCormick said, he dropped that plan and agreed to bring the audit to a close.
鈥淚 was considering additional action, but I think the self-disclosure showed good faith,鈥� McCormick told Gilbert.
But as early as mid-February, McCormick that he had his doubts about Zervas鈥� billing irregularities.
鈥淗old off on additional work,鈥� to a member of the auditing team at DSS. 鈥淟ooking like a fraud case.鈥�
McCormick鈥檚 attorney, Steve Manning, did not respond to phone calls for this story. Gilbert, who is now retired from state service, declined to comment when provided with the emails at his home earlier this month.
Norm Pattis, Diamantis鈥� defense attorney, said the emails from McCormick clearly show that Gifford was closely involved in the decision to cancel the Medicaid audit, and he said that will make her an indispensable witness when Diamantis and Ziogas go to trial early next year.
鈥淚t seems obvious to me that Ms. Gifford knew of, and approved of, the settlement of the Medicaid claims,鈥� Pattis said. 鈥淪he will obviously be an important witness at trial.鈥�
Before the audit was officially closed, records show, , briefing her on the final terms of the deal with Zervas.
鈥淚 have proposed to accept a lump sum payment of $599,810,鈥� McCormick told Gifford. 鈥淲e will cancel the open audit and the provider will have a billing consultant review weekly billings for one year.鈥�
Gifford, who worked at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and served as Rhode Island鈥檚 Medicaid director before joining Lamont鈥檚 administration, told McCormick that she was comfortable with that plan, as long as there wasn鈥檛 anything nefarious about Zervas鈥� actions.
鈥淛ohn: as long as this is how you would normally handle such a matter, it sounds fine to me,鈥� Gifford replied. 鈥淚 assume you determined there was no fraudulent intent here?鈥�
Records reviewed by the CT Mirror last year show the deal that Zervas received was , even when they voluntarily repaid money to the state.
Even so, McCormick confirmed for Gifford that he would finalize the deal and drop the audit.
鈥淭he provider is blaming the billing person,鈥� . 鈥淚 think it wise to take the money with the added compliance. I don鈥檛 want to discourage future disclosures.鈥�
