Branford Nurse Practitioner Settles False Claim Allegations for $455K, Connecticut AG Reports

In a significant healthcare fraud settlement, a Branford-based advanced practice nurse has agreed to pay more than $455,000 to resolve allegations that she violated Connecticut state law through improper handling of prescription medications.

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Dayna L. Giordano and her medical practice will pay $455,598.31 to settle liability claims under the Connecticut False Claims Act, according to an announcement from Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.

The settlement follows a comprehensive investigation into Giordano’s medical practice spanning over four years, from June 1, 2019, through August 31, 2023. During this period, Giordano was enrolled in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP), which includes the state’s Medicaid program.

According to investigators, Giordano operated a private medical office in Branford where she provided Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) to patients struggling with opioid or alcohol use disorders. As part of this treatment approach, Giordano regularly prescribed and was supposed to administer monthly injections of long-acting, extended-release medications including Sublocade, Vivitrol, and Abilify Maintena.

These medications represent a crucial component in addressing substance use disorders. Sublocade is a monthly buprenorphine injection used to treat opioid use disorder, while Vivitrol (naltrexone) helps prevent relapse in alcohol and opioid dependence. Abilify Maintena is typically used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but can also be prescribed for certain addiction-related conditions.

The investigation revealed a troubling pattern: Giordano arranged for specialty pharmacies to deliver these injectable medications directly to her Branford office for patient administration. These specialty pharmacies subsequently submitted claims to the Connecticut Medicaid Program for reimbursement, which the program paid.

However, authorities discovered that Giordano “never administered numerous doses to the patients for whom they were ordered,” Attorney General Tong stated. This failure resulted in direct financial losses to Connecticut’s Medicaid Program, which had already reimbursed the specialty pharmacies for medications that were ultimately not used as intended.

While Giordano did not personally seek or receive payment for these unused medications, investigators determined she “knowingly failed to administer the drug injections due to improper medication inventory tracking and substandard record-keeping.” This negligence caused the specialty pharmacies to bill the Department of Social Services for medications that never reached their intended recipients.

The case highlights ongoing challenges in medication management within smaller medical practices handling high-value specialty pharmaceuticals. Many of these injectable medications cost thousands of dollars per dose, making proper inventory control and administration records particularly important from both financial and patient care perspectives.

“Dayna Giordano’s poor record-keeping wasted taxpayer dollars and unused medications,” Attorney General Tong said. “We will continue to work closely with our state and federal partners to aggressively protect the integrity of our public healthcare programs.”

The settlement reflects a growing focus on healthcare fraud and waste at the state level, particularly as substance use disorder treatments increasingly rely on expensive specialty medications. In recent years, both state and federal authorities have intensified scrutiny of providers who receive or administer high-cost medications through government healthcare programs.

The Connecticut case comes amid nationwide efforts to ensure that Medication Assisted Treatment programs, which have expanded significantly in response to the opioid crisis, maintain proper accountability and documentation standards. Such programs represent a critical component of addressing substance use disorders, making program integrity particularly important for public health outcomes.