Owner of Suburban Chicago Counseling Center and Five Others Indicted for Alleged $19 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

CHICAGO - The owner of a suburban Chicago counseling center and five others have been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly submitting at least $19 million in fraudulent claims to a private insurer for psychotherapy services that were not provided.

BRENDA COPELAND operated All Types Counseling Services, which had offices in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and purportedly provided counseling services for conditions such as depression and addiction. An indictment returned Monday in the Northern District of Illinois alleges that from 2010 to 2025, Copeland schemed with the company's office manager-SAMUEL CARLSON-and four purported patients to submit false and fraudulent claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for nonexistent psychotherapy services. The purported patients provided their health insurance information to Copeland and Carlson, who used it to submit the false claims. In turn, Copeland and Carlson gave the purported patients a portion of the payments that BCBS issued to All Types, the indictment states. The purported patients also recruited others to falsely pose as patients in exchange for receiving similar payments from Copeland and Carlson, the indictment states.

In all, the defendants submitted and caused the submission of $19 million in fraudulent claims, resulting in the issuance of more than $4.8 million in payments from BCBS to All Types, the indictment states.

The indictment charges Copeland, 64, of Country Club Hills, Ill., Carlson, 69, of Country Club Hills, Ill., HERBERT "RANDY" FOSTER, 59, of Flossmoor, Ill., JOSEPH IRACI, 51, of New Lenox, Ill., ANTHONY GESSERT, 42, of Oak Lawn, Ill., and HENRY SALDARRIAGA-OCHOA, 37, of Berwyn, Ill., with health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Arraignments in federal court have not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ryan Whalen, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Anthony P. D'Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor; and Kelli Hammerl, Regional Director of the Chicago Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Pinkston.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud are each punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.