According to Elisha Fieldstadt of NBC News, this story begins with Anthony Todt, co-owner with his wife, Megan Todt, of Family Physical Therapy in Colchester, Connecticut. The official affidavit stated that Todt used the physical therapy business to “bill insurance companies for physical therapy sessions people did not receive,” as he was in a crippling amount of debt.
Fieldstadt stated, “One family told investigators that their insurance company was billed for 172 hours of physical therapy after they stopped going to Family Physical Therapy. Medicaid paid Todt more than $17,000 for those sessions. Medicaid also paid Todt more than $20,000 for Saturday sessions he billed for, even though the practice was not open on Saturdays.”
Family Physical Therapy took out loans from 20 separate lenders between the years of 2015 and 2018, to include $100,000 in one month ALONE in 2017, employees indicated to investigators that their paychecks ceased and/or bounced, and the business was eventually evicted from their Connecticut office.
Todt had originally denied all fraud allegations, “then admitted that he started ‘adding stuff’ to randomly chosen patients bills, according to the court documents. He said his wife and employees were unaware of the scheme,” stated Fieldstadt.
In a tragic turn last month, as deputies were attempting to serve a federal arrest warrant at Todt’s home in Celebration, Florida, they were able to make contact with him, but also uncovered the bodies of Todt’s family; his wife, Megan, three young children, 13-year-old Alek, 11-year-old Tyler, and 4-year-old Zoey, and the family dog, Breezy.
“Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said investigators believe the family had been dead since late December. Deputies had conducted a wellness check at the home on Dec. 29 after a family member from another state contacted authorities after the Todts hadn’t been in touch for days, but they were unable to make contact,” stated Fieldstadt.
Todt has confessed to the murders, although autopsies are being performed, and he is held without bail on four premeditated murder counts.