Woman charged with posing as board-certified therapist at Brighton center

A woman who posed as a board-certified therapist at a Livingston County therapy center for years wasn't certified and was not licensed to practice in Michigan, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Kimberly Casey Coden-Diskin, 34, was arraigned in Livingston County's 53rd District Court on 16 felony counts of unauthorized practice of a health profession and two felony counts of identity theft, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel's office.

Coden-Diskin started working at the Oxford Recovery Center in Brighton in 2018, where she repeatedly claimed to be a board-certified behavioral analyst, despite not having the state's required certification, according to a release from Nessel's office.

She claimed to have the certification continually through business cards, verbal statements and written documents, and created a fraudulent Behavior Analyst Certification Board certificate using the certification numbers from another state, the release said.

Jerome Sabbota, Coden-Diskin's attorney, said she's been under investigation for more than a year and that previous investigations came about after complaints from parents who were unhappy with the way their children received disciplinary action through "time outs."

"The truth is, it's like anything else. You can throw dirt on somebody and say, 'Now defend yourself,' which she's going to do," Sabbota said.

A person who answered the phone at the the Oxford Recovery Center said no one was available to speak to a reporter Wednesday.

The Oxford Recovery Center offers treatment for autism-related issues, physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The center also provides treatment for issues related to cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, Parkinson's and other conditions.

Coden-Diskin also worked with children diagnosed with autism and parents.

"People who impersonate credentialed medical staff in order to treat children create the potential for great harm," Nessel in a statement. "I will not tolerate those who put children at risk and will prosecute those that do to the fullest extent of the law."

Coden-Diskin was released on a $50,000 personal bond. She faces up to five years in prison and a $25,000 fine on the identity theft charges and four years in prison and a $5,000 fine on each unauthorized practice of a health profession charge.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for Tuesday and a preliminary examination is scheduled for Aug. 30.

Sophia Lada is a reporter for the Livingston Daily. Contact her at slada@gannett.com or 517.377.1065. Follow her on Twitter @sophia_lada.