Michigan woman accused of impersonating therapist, treating children with autism

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OAKLAND COUNTY, MI – A Michigan woman is accused of posing as a certified therapist and treating children diagnosed with autism at a recovery center in Brighton.

Kimberly Casey Coden-Diskin, 34, of Oakland County, has been arraigned in the 53rd District Court in Livingston County on charges of 16 counts of unauthorized practice of a health profession, punishable by up to four years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine; and two counts of identity theft, punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine, the Michigan Department of Attorney General announced.

“People who impersonate credentialed medical staff in order to treat children create the potential for great harm,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said 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.”

In 2018, Coden-Diskin was hired at the Oxford Recovery Center in Brighton. During her employment, she allegedly represented herself as a Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA), although she was not certified by the professional oversight board. It is also alleged that Coden-Diskin never obtained licensing required by the state of Michigan.

Coden-Diskin allegedly presented herself as a certified and licensed behavioral analyst through business cards, verbal statements and written documents. She allegedly used the certification number of a state certified person to forge a certificate under her own name to present herself as a legitimate behavioral analyst.

It is alleged she worked with children diagnosed with autism and their parents, which requires the certification and license that she allegedly forged.

Coden-Diskin’s probable cause conference is scheduled for Aug. 23 and a preliminary examination is scheduled for Aug. 30.

The Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD) investigated this case as Michigan’s federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

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