FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A fast-growing multi-state autism therapy firm headquartered in Fort Lauderdale has acknowledged that it is currently the subject of a federal investigation regarding its billing practices, even as it maintains that it is cooperating fully with investigators.
ABA Centers of America experienced meteoric growth and financial success following its founding in 2020, rocketing to national prominence in less than six years. However, the enterprise has been under close scrutiny since early 2025 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The investigation intensified significantly in New Hampshire, where a federal magistrate granted investigators permission to search the emails and other electronic communications of founder Christopher M. Barnett alongside multiple high-ranking company officials.
An 81-page federal affidavit submitted to the New Hampshire federal magistrate requested access to the Microsoft accounts of various ABA executives. According to the document, federal agents are investigating potential offenses that include making 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, D.C., and are collaborating directly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Concord, New Hampshire.
Maria Isina Areco, director of public relations for ABA Centers and its parent organization, ICBD Holdings, addressed the ongoing inquiry in an emailed statement to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
"We are aware that the federal government is investigating the company," Areco stated. "We are working with federal investigators and will respond at the appropriate time."
To date, the federal investigation has not resulted in the filing of any criminal charges against either the business or any individual associated with it.
According to details outlined in the agent’s affidavit, the primary focus of the probe centers on alleged fraudulent billing practices targeting healthcare benefit programs. The filing states that the firm submitted claims 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 further alleges that the company, operating 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." Investigators claim that ABA Centers of America provided these purported therapy services based not on clinical medical necessity, but rather on an internal rating system that categorized child and teenage patients according to the potential profits the company could extract from their health insurance plans.
Court records show that investigators have interviewed numerous former ABA employees and patients. These conversations contributed to investigators concluding that ABA Centers of America billed services rendered in Massachusetts as if they had been provided in New Hampshire. The financial incentive for this discrepancy, according to the findings, was that insurance plans in New Hampshire reimbursed at substantially higher rates than comparable plans in Massachusetts.
Based on collected records and witness interviews, investigators also concluded that Barnett, the company’s founder, "used the ill-gotten proceeds from this fraudulent billing to make extravagant purchases to support a lavish lifestyle, such as luxury automobiles." The affidavit asserts that he acquired a corporate jet and leased a multi-million-dollar waterfront residence in Fort Lauderdale.
Concurrent Civil Litigation
Alongside the federal criminal inquiry, ABA Centers of America is embroiled in complex civil litigation with corporate entities and health insurance providers, including Publix Super Markets and its employee group health benefits plan.
The legal battle began when ABA initially sued the supermarket chain in a Florida state court, asserting that the company was owed millions of dollars in unpaid insurance claims. Publix responded by filing a counterclaim in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleging an extensive scheme 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 presented itself to families with autistic children as a provider of top-tier therapy, while allegedly generating massive, unjustified claims.
The litigation involving Publix 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 recent ruling, the judge allowed the bulk of the Publix case to move forward, upholding six out of nine counts in the lawsuit and giving ABA’s legal representation from the Greenberg Traurig law firm a mid-October 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.
"Plaintiffs — an employer and an insurance plan — allege that healthcare provider Defendants committed insurance fraud," the judge continued. "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."
Judge Singhal elaborated on the mechanism described by plaintiffs: "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."
Parallel civil litigation is also underway in a Massachusetts state court involving ABA Centers, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Point32Health Services. ABA initially initiated that legal action to recover alleged nonpayment of claims. In late 2025, the Point32 subsidiaries filed an amended counterclaim against ABA and a related entity, Integrative Healthcare Services, seeking more than $19 million in damages for an alleged widespread scheme to defraud the companies.
College Walks Away from $55 Million Pledge
The existence of the federal criminal investigation was first brought to light by an online publishing outlet called "Reinforcement & Ruin," a Substack authored by Samantha Parnham, a certified behavioral health analyst who operates an independent practice in Oregon. Her six-part series summarized the ongoing federal investigation using court documents and detailed civil litigation brought by major health insurers against ABA Centers of America. Industry publications such as Behavior Health Business and Acuity Media have also tracked the developing legal challenges.
Despite the federal investigation having been active for well over a year, news of the probe apparently did not reach Temple University in Philadelphia, Barnett’s undergraduate alma mater, until early September. The previous year, the university had proudly accepted a landmark $55 million philanthropic pledge from Barnett intended for its school of public health.
In recognition of what was hailed as the largest gift in Temple University’s history, the institution renamed its College of Public Health to the Christopher M. Barnett College of Public Health.
However, in a campus-wide letter issued in September, 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 no money had been paid toward the pledge prior to the decision. School leadership also stated that the building naming rights associated with Barnett had been rescinded.
A Temple media relations representative did not respond to inquiries from the South Florida Sun Sentinel regarding the university’s decision to sever ties with the donor.
In their campus letter, the university leaders noted that Barnett "strenuously" denied any wrongdoing and added, without elaboration, that he was dealing with a "life-threatening" medical issue. The company has declined to answer questions from reporters concerning the current state of Barnett’s health or whether he retains operational control over the enterprise he established.
A ‘Disruptive’ Business Model
Established in 2020, ABA Centers of America experienced rapid financial expansion, regularly appearing near the top of revenue rankings for growing enterprises. In 2024, the firm secured the No. 5 spot on the Inc. 5000 list. The following year, it ranked No. 25 nationally and No. 15 on a Southeast regional list.
Before entering the healthcare sector, Barnett worked in the real estate industry, exiting the field during the housing market crash of 2008. Alongside a political science degree from Temple University, public biographies indicate he holds a law degree from Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, though he is not currently listed as a member on the Florida Bar website.
His venture into behavioral health began by building enterprises from the ground up. According to a profile published by Florida Trend, an early company he founded called GateHouse Treatment, a behavioral healthcare center located 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 maintains its headquarters at 110 E. Broward Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.
At its peak, the profile noted that ABA operated with more than 2,000 employees across centers spanning over ten states, though recent industry reports have noted layoffs and the closure of specific facilities.
Within the community, Barnett has maintained an active profile supporting children’s initiatives. Earlier in the year, he was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County Alumni Hall of Fame, noting in a press release that he had been a "Club Kid" in Lauderhill during his youth. In 2024, he was also appointed to the board of directors for the Memorial and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital foundations.
In its statement to the Sun Sentinel, the company characterized its operational strategy 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’s statement read. "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 described the autism treatment sector as a 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 and Central Florida
According to published reports and company disclosures, ABA Centers began establishing locations in Florida under the name ABA Centers of Florida starting in 2022 in Port St. Lucie, followed by expansions into Jensen Beach, Tamarac, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Orlando.
The company emphasized that its facilities have 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 concluded. "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."
