A 74-year-old social worker from St. Paul pleaded not guilty to federal Medicaid fraud charges tied to alleged $7.7 million in false claims connected to autism services billed across more than a dozen Minnesota providers. Prosecutors allege Ravits made false certifications on treatment plans.
Ravits was charged Oct. 22 with conspiracy to defraud the United States and six counts of making false statements related to health care matters, according to Becker's Behavioral Health. Prosecutors say Ravits worked as a social worker from St. Paul and served as a qualified supervising professional for several autism services providers across the state. KARE 11 reported that she pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege she made false certifications on autism treatment plans and that some services billed in the case were not performed or properly reimbursable.
Texts Allegedly Show Ravits Knew Risk Was Rising
According to KARE 11's reporting, prosecutors point to text messages in which Ravits allegedly told a co-conspirator she needed to see the billing under her own name because she was the one responsible for it. In another message cited by the station, she reportedly wrote in 2025 that she was tightening things up because federal authorities would quickly target high billers. One clinic paid Ravits $2,400 per month, the station reported, though the indictment does not specify a dollar figure for her personal enrichment.
Minnesota's Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention benefit, known as EIDBI, is the Medicaid program at the center of the case. It covers medically necessary services for people under 21 with autism spectrum disorder or related conditions, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and includes individual treatment plan development and monitoring.
Attorney Pushes Back on Prosecutors' Framing
Ravits's attorney told KARE 11 that she is warm and loving and has worked in social work for decades, describing her as someone who believed in helping children rather than generating profit. The attorney also said Ravits owned no facilities and was merely an employee.
Empower Skill Academy, a Fridley provider, was among the sites searched by federal authorities in April.
Part of a Wider Crackdown on Autism Billing
Ravits's case is one piece of a much larger reckoning in Minnesota's autism-services industry. Federal and state authorities have separately searched Iska Inc., Bright Horizon Therapy Center and other sites, according to the Star Tribune, which reported that Iska received more than $16.7 million in Medicaid autism funds between 2018 and 2025 while Bright Horizon received nearly $17.7 million from 2020 to 2025. State officials have labeled the autism-services program one of 14 Medicaid-funded programs considered high risk for fraud, per the same Star Tribune report.
Three people were charged in October in separate schemes that allegedly defrauded Minnesota's Medicaid autism therapy program of about $35 million combined, Becker's Behavioral Health reported. The owners of Star Autism and Smart Therapy Center have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, the Daily Gazette reported. Minnesota's Department of Human Services has said it began contracting with private-sector health care auditors in January to conduct targeted audits of EIDBI billing outliers that depart from expected patterns.
