TAUNTON — A Taunton-based health center and its former owners will pay nearly $1 million to MassHealth to resolve allegations from the state Attorney General's office that it allowed fraudulent claims.

The A.G.'s office said Monday that Northeast Health Services allegedly failed to properly supervise clinicians, resulting in false claims being submitted to MassHealth.

The heathcare provider and its former owners, Robert Conway and Wallace Varonko, have agreed to settle the allegations by paying MassHealth $940,000.

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Regulations require qualified, licensed clinicians and counselors to provide mental health services to MassHealth members, according to the A.G.'s office.

By failing to ensure that some clinicians were appropriately supervised by a licensed clinician, Northeast allegedly allowed fraudulent claims to be submitted to the state health agency.

The A.G.'s office noted that this is the latest in a series of recent settlements against mental and behavioral health providers, including a $4.6 million payout from Pathways of Massachusetts in 2022 and a $25 million settlement with South Bay Mental Health Center in 2021.

The owner of one Quincy-based counseling service provider, Nicole Kasimatis, was also sentenced to serve up to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to fraudulent billing in July 2022.

"As we urgently address the mental and behavioral health crisis facing our state, our office will continue to enforce the highest possible standards of care among mental health providers to ensure vulnerable residents are receiving these critical health care services from trained professionals," Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said.

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