FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — ABA Centers of America, a rapidly expanding multi-state autism therapy provider headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, has acknowledged that it is the target of a sweeping federal investigation concerning its billing practices and is actively cooperating with investigators.
The enterprise, whose financial fortunes and physical footprint skyrocketed to national prominence in less than six years following its establishment in 2020, has drawn scrutiny since early 2025. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has spearheaded the inquiry, notably in New Hampshire, where a federal magistrate authorized investigators to thoroughly examine the emails and electronic communications of company founder Christopher M. Barnett alongside multiple high-ranking corporate executives.
An extensive 81-page federal affidavit submitted to a New Hampshire federal magistrate seeking access to executive Microsoft accounts details that federal agents are probing potential offenses. These alleged violations encompass making false statements relating to healthcare matters, wire fraud, healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and transacting in criminal proceeds. Prosecutors listed in the court documents belong to the fraud section of the U.S. Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington, D.C., operating in direct coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office located in Concord, New Hampshire.
Despite the breadth of the probe, the federal investigation has not yet culminated in formal criminal charges against any business entity or individual.
“We are aware that the federal government is investigating the company,” Maria Isina Areco, director of public relations for ABA Centers and its parent organization, ICBD Holdings, said in an emailed statement to the press. “Estamos working with federal investigators and will respond at the appropriate time.”
According to the agent’s affidavit, the primary focus centers on allegations of fraudulent billing practices targeting healthcare benefit programs. The filing notes that the firm allegedly billed for medically unnecessary services purportedly rendered in the District of Massachusetts, the District of New Hampshire, and other jurisdictions by submitting claims that misrepresented the location where services were provided, the identity of the rendering provider, and the underlying medical necessity.
Furthermore, the affidavit alleges that the company—operating through an affiliated billing arm—additionally billed for services that failed to qualify as legitimate medical treatment. Examples cited in the court records include instances where a client was napping or watching television. Investigators assert that ABA Centers of America delivered these purported therapy services based not on clinical medical necessity, but rather in accordance with an internal rating system that categorized child and teenage patients according to the potential profits the company could extract from their respective health insurance plans.
Through a combination of subpoenaed records and interviews with multiple former employees and patients, investigators concluded that the firm engaged in geographic billing manipulation. For instance, the probe revealed that ABA Centers billed services administered in Massachusetts as though they had been provided in New Hampshire. The financial incentive for this discrepancy was clear: health insurance plans in New Hampshire reimbursed providers at significantly higher rates than comparable plans in Massachusetts.
Reviewing financial records alongside witness testimonies, investigators additionally asserted that founder Christopher M. Barnett utilized the ill-gotten proceeds generated from the allegedly fraudulent billing to fund a lavish lifestyle characterized by extravagant purchases, including luxury automobiles, a corporate jet, and the lease of a multi-million-dollar waterfront residence in Fort Lauderdale.
Concurrent Civil Litigation
Alongside the federal criminal inquiry, ABA Centers of America finds itself embroiled in complex civil litigation involving major corporate entities and health insurance plans, including Publix Super Markets and its internal group health benefits program.
The legal dispute initially began when ABA sued the supermarket chain in a Florida state court, claiming that the company was owed millions of dollars in unpaid insurance claims. Publix fought back by filing a federal counterclaim in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleging a calculated enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO.
The Publix complaint, which seeks approximately $15 million in damages, described ABA Centers as an organization that outwardly presented itself to families with autistic children as a high-quality therapy provider while systematically generating inflated and unjustified claims.
The litigation was transferred in late 2025 to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale and assigned to U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal. In a notable procedural development, Judge Singhal permitted the core of the Publix lawsuit to move forward, allowing six out of nine counts to stand while granting defense lawyers from the Greenberg Traurig law firm a deadline to respond.
“Before the court is a civil case that could also be brought as a criminal action,” Judge Singhal wrote in an order dated August 28, detailing the mechanics of the alleged insurance scheme.
The judge noted that the plaintiffs—comprising an employer and an insurance plan—alleged that the healthcare provider defendants submitted intentionally inflated bills. The provider allegedly intended for the plan to calculate payouts based on these inflated figures, even though the company never intended to collect significant portions of those totals from the individual employee plan members who received the actual treatment.
Describing the alleged mechanism, Judge Singhal provided an illustrative example from the court filings: if a provider submitted a bill for $1,000 for a brief appointment, and the insurance plan stipulated that the employer pay 60 percent while the member paid 40 percent, the provider would collect the $600 from the plan and only a negligible amount from the family. The initial $1,000 billed total was allegedly false because the provider only ever expected to collect a fraction of that amount, relying on the employer to shoulder the vast majority of the cost under the false assumption that the employee was paying their contractual share.
Parallel civil litigation is actively proceeding in a Massachusetts state court between ABA Centers and major healthcare providers Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Point32Health Services. After ABA initially filed suit to pursue alleged unpaid claims, Point32 subsidiaries responded with an amended counterclaim against ABA and a related entity, Integrative Healthcare Services. Those insurers are seeking more than $19 million, alleging a far-reaching scheme designed to defraud the companies.
College Walks Away From $55 Million Pledge
The existence of the federal criminal investigation first came to light publicly through a reporting series published on a Substack online outlet titled “Reinforcement & Ruin,” authored by Samantha Parnham, a certified behavioral health analyst who operates a small practice in Oregon. The multi-part series summarized court records detailing the federal inquiry and the concurrent civil insurance lawsuits. Additional reporting by industry publications such as Behavior Health Business and Acuity Media further chronicled the escalating legal challenges.
Despite the federal investigation having roots extending back over a year, news of the probe apparently did not reach Temple University in Philadelphia—Barnett’s undergraduate alma mater—until early September. The prior year, the university had enthusiastically accepted a landmark $55 million philanthropic pledge from Barnett intended for its school of public health.
In recognition of what was celebrated at the time as the largest gift in Temple University’s history, school officials temporarily renamed the institution’s College of Public Health to the Christopher M. Barnett College of Public Health.
However, in a joint campus-wide letter released by university leadership, Temple President John Fry and Board Chair Mitchell L. Morgan announced that the university and Barnett had “mutually agreed to terminate his $55 million philanthropic commitment that was announced in October 2025.” University officials confirmed that up until the cancellation of the agreement, no actual financial contributions had been paid toward the pledged amount.
Alongside the termination of the financial pledge, university leadership confirmed that the building naming rights honoring Barnett had been rescinded.
In their campus letter, university officials noted that Barnett had “strenuously” denied any allegations of wrongdoing. Without providing extensive elaboration, the university letter also mentioned that Barnett was simultaneously navigating a serious medical issue described as life-threatening. Representatives for ABA Centers of America have not publicly addressed inquiries regarding Barnett’s current health status or whether he maintains an active supervisory role within the enterprise he founded.
A Disruptive Business Model Under Scrutiny
Founded in 2020, ABA Centers of America experienced meteoric revenue growth that placed it near the top of several prominent business rankings. In 2024, the firm secured the No. 5 spot on the Inc. 5000 list, and the following year it ranked No. 25 nationally, alongside a No. 15 ranking on a Southeast regional list.
Barnett, who has previously described himself as a serial entrepreneur, worked in the real estate sector prior to his entry into healthcare, exiting the industry around the time of the 2008 housing market crash. According to published biographical profiles, he earned a political science degree from Temple University and subsequently obtained a law degree from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, though public records from the Florida Bar do not list him as a licensed member.
Transitioning his focus to healthcare, Barnett built his current enterprise from the ground up. According to a profile published by Florida Trend, an earlier venture he established called GateHouse Treatment—a behavioral healthcare center located in Nashua, New Hampshire—served as the operational cornerstone for ICBD Holdings. This Fort Lauderdale-based holding company presently oversees ABA Centers, Curative AI, Exact Billing Solutions, and several associated commercial ventures out of its headquarters at 110 East Broward Boulevard.
At its peak operational capacity, profiles indicated ABA employed more than 2,000 workers across clinical centers located in more than ten states, though recent industry reports have noted corporate layoffs and the shuttering of select facilities.
Locally, Barnett has maintained an active presence in philanthropic circles supporting children and youth programs. Earlier, he was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County Alumni Hall of Fame, having spent part of his childhood as a program participant in Lauderhill. In 2024, he was appointed to the board of directors for the foundations supporting Memorial Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
In its formal statement addressing the ongoing scrutiny, ABA Centers of America defended its operational framework, characterizing its approach as a business model that challenges conventional healthcare norms.
“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 stated. “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 company statement further emphasized that the autism therapy sector operates within a rapidly growing and frequently changing healthcare segment, noting that staff training on compliance and documentation practices has continuously expanded alongside corporate growth.
“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,” the company added. “First and foremost, we are committed to getting children off waiting lists where they often languish for far too long. 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.”
Centers in South and Central Florida
Public records and corporate disclosures indicate that ABA Centers began expanding its physical footprint into Florida under the trade name ABA Centers of Florida starting in 2022, opening its initial location in Port St. Lucie. Subsequent clinical facilities were established in Jensen Beach, Tamarac, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Orlando.
The company emphasized that its regional clinics have successfully assisted in diagnosing and treating thousands of children on the autism spectrum by employing standardized clinical assessment tools.
“A plan of care is then developed by a clinician—a treatment plan that is individualized, data-driven and science-backed,” the company statement explained. “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.”
