Georgia Alternative School Owner Charged With 12 Counts of Insurance Fraud

Georgia Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens and the Roswell Police Department announced the arrest of a Fulton County woman on multiple counts of insurance fraud and other charges.

Rommys Alemania Beltran, 45, of Roswell, Georgia, was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with 12 counts of insurance fraud, 18 counts of theft by deception, one count of practicing psychology without a license, and one count of tampering with evidence. Beltran, who owned and operated the Alternative Youth Academy, located in Alpharetta, is currently being held in the Fulton County Jail. Bond has been set at $190,000.

According to a joint investigation conducted by Hudgens’ Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Roswell Police Department, Beltran allegedly billed health care providers for services such as family counseling and psychotherapy sessions that were never rendered. Investigators determined that Beltran was not licensed to perform counseling and psychotherapy sessions. In addition, the case revealed that Beltran deceptively marketed the academy as an accredited school in an effort to increase attendance and tuition monies.

“We have discovered more than $300,000 in insurance claims submitted for payment by Beltran before her arrest yesterday,” Hudgens said. “My Investigators believe that many of the claims are fraudulent.”

The Alternative Youth Academy educated children that either had been suspended or had

difficulties in traditional schools. The school lost its state accreditation in September 2014, but only closed its doors following a search warrant by the Roswell Police Department and the GBI in August 2015.

Insurance fraud is a felony with a penalty of two to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000.

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance

Topics Fraud Georgia