Special needs school at center of $4.6M Medicaid fraud investigation to reopen under new management

ORLANDO, Fla. — A special needs school at the center of a Medicaid fraud investigation is expected to reopen soon under new administration.

The Lodestone Academy, which has a campus near downtown Orlando, has taken over the shuttered Angels Center for Autism, which was closed after Maria Navarro, its owner, and Judith Benech, an administrator, were accused of filing $4.6 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims.

The women, who were freed from the Orange County Jail last week after paying bail, are accused of using the money to buy three homes and more than a dozen cars.

Investigators said the pair billed Medicaid for eight-hour one-on-one therapy sessions with students, but officials said they only had enough staffing to provide two-hour sessions.

Parent Hector Rodriguez said he had no idea the alleged wrongdoing was happening.

“I couldn't believe it,” he said. “[The] truth is, I thought they were using the money for them.”

Parents who gathered at Englewood Park Friday to discuss how their children will be taught told Channel 9 that they’re unsure if they want their children to return to the school.

“I was actually hurt. We did trust these people,” parent Brianna Santiago said. “I think my next option would be homeschool until I find another place where my son feels comfortable.”

Rodriguez said it would be difficult to enroll his daughter elsewhere this late into the school year.

“Public schools, she cannot go to one. It's not adequate for her,” he said. “The administration of the school -- even though it [will be] a new one -- a lot of parents think it is going to continue with the same thing, with the same structure.”

But he said he’s had trouble obtaining his daughter’s transcripts, which are required to transfer to another school.

“They have the current paperwork of my daughter,” he said. “So all their documents, and of every other child, we don't know what is going to happen with that.”

Owner Josh Pritchard said he's still waiting on a final state inspection to reopen the school. He said he's currently hiring instructors and therapists who specialize in applied behavior analysis.

While workers employed by the previous school will be considered, Pritchard said his primary concern is the children.

"You got to love the kids, be committed to their education and then [be] coachable," he said.

Pritchard said he hopes to have students registered for classes by Thursday.

Cox Media Group