ICBD Holdings Lawsuit: Publix RICO, Point32Health, and Optum Claims

ICBD Holdings, the Fort Lauderdale company that controls ABA Centers of America, is currently defending a cluster of lawsuits that includes a federal RICO claim from Publix Super Markets over roughly $7 million in disputed autism therapy billing, a $19 million fraud counterclaim from Point32Health, and two federal employment discrimination cases set for trial in 2027. None of the matters has produced a finding of liability, and the company denies the billing fraud allegations.

Publix RICO and Billing Suit

Publix Super Markets sued ABA Centers of America on August 25, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleging the provider fraudulently billed the grocer’s employee health plans more than $7 million.¹ The complaint invokes the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and accuses ABA Centers of inflated charges, improper coding, and failures around medical necessity and prior authorization.² According to Publix, ABA Centers charged as much as $990 for a 15-minute therapy increment, roughly $4,000 an hour, against an average in-network rate of about $88 an hour.

The same day, ABA Centers of Florida filed a competing suit in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit Court, arguing that Publix’s plans (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and South Carolina) authorized the services but never paid. That case covers therapy for ten children aged 4 to 17 and seeks full payment, 12 percent annual interest, attorney’s fees, and a jury trial.¹ The federal case moved to the Southern District of Florida in October 2025, and ABA Centers filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in November 2025.² Both suits are still active, and ABA Centers continues to treat children of Publix employees during the litigation.

Point32Health Counterclaim

ABA Centers of America sued Point32Health, the parent of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, in Massachusetts Superior Court on December 31, 2024, seeking $80 million over thousands of unpaid claims.³ Point32Health answered on November 12, 2025, with a 49-page counterclaim seeking more than $19 million and accusing the provider of systematic billing fraud.⁴

The Point32Health filing contains the most detailed accusations against ABA Centers to date. It alleges the provider billed movie screenings and a trampoline park outing as therapeutic sessions, totaling more than $137,000. It says ABA Centers billed $1.9 million for a single patient under a code requiring an on-site physician, documented destructive behavior, and a controlled clinical setting, none of which the insurer says were present. It alleges newly hired clinicians were required to drop their in-network credentials so that services could be billed at out-of-network rates that ran up to 2,015 percent above standard in-network fees. It alleges that staff titled “Diagnostic Technicians,” a designation Point32Health says is not a recognized professional credential, conducted autism evaluations, while staff psychologists signed off on as many as 80 evaluations per week without seeing patients. And it alleges families were offered $1-per-month payment plans to waive cost-sharing while full amounts were reported to the insurer, with patients sorted into profitability tiers and the least profitable facing discharge.⁴

The counterclaim brings nine counts including fraud, violations of Massachusetts health insurance and consumer protection statutes, and tortious interference with contracts, and seeks the $19 million along with treble damages and attorney’s fees.⁴ ABA Centers has denied the allegations in its filings, and the case remains pending in Suffolk County Superior Court.³

Employment Discrimination Cases

Two federal employment cases are moving toward jury trials next year.

Lily Riefhohl filed a sex discrimination complaint against ICBD Holdings on February 9, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Judge William P. Dimitrouleas is presiding, with Magistrate Judge Patrick M. Hunt overseeing discovery. ICBD Holdings filed its answer and affirmative defenses in April 2026, and trial is set for September 13, 2027, in Fort Lauderdale. The parties selected Marlene Quintana as mediator in May 2026.⁵ Littler Mendelson represents the company; Yormak Employment & Disability Law represents Riefhohl.⁶

Mirabella Monterio sued ABA Centers of America, ICBD Holdings, and two individual defendants named David Curran and Elizabeth Rosario on June 4, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, alleging employment discrimination. Judge Paul J. Barbadoro is presiding, with Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnstone handling mediation and pretrial matters. Court-sponsored mediation on May 28 and June 1, 2026, ended without resolution. A two-week jury trial is scheduled to begin September 8, 2027, with a final pretrial conference on August 25, 2027.⁷

Optum Discharges and Layoffs

The payer disputes have spilled into operations. In mid-2026, sources reported that Optum would no longer allow ABA Centers to treat some of its members, with families notified of discharges effective June 5, 2026, on roughly two weeks’ notice. Optum’s reason has not been publicly established, and no Optum lawsuit against ABA Centers has been reported.³

On June 12, 2026, ABA Centers confirmed it had begun layoffs as part of a restructuring, declining to disclose the number of employees affected or which locations were hit. The company called the cuts a “normal course of business” review of organizational needs. Reporting tied the reductions to lost revenue from payers that have either sued the company or severed ties, citing Optum’s withdrawal as a contributing factor.⁸

Where Things Stand

Every lawsuit involving ICBD Holdings and ABA Centers of America is unresolved as of mid-2026. The Publix RICO case, the Point32Health counterclaim, and both discrimination cases are in discovery or moving toward 2027 trial dates. ABA Centers continues to deny the billing fraud allegations and maintains that its services were delivered and its claims were properly authorized. The company still operates clinics in more than a dozen states and Puerto Rico.⁹

1
Behavioral Health Business. ABA Centers of America Sues Publix
2
CourtListener. Publix Super Markets Inc v ABA Centers of America LLC
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Acuity News. ABA Centers of America Optum Discharges Fraud Litigation
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Acuity News. Point32Health ABA Centers of America Fraud Lawsuit 19 Million
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PACER Monitor. Riefhohl v ICBD Holdings LLC
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Law360. Riefhohl v ICBD Holdings LLC
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PACER Monitor. Monterio v ABA Centers of America LLC et al
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Behavioral Health Business. ABA Centers of America Lays Off Staff
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Breaking News ABA. How Christopher Barnett Built the Nations Fastest-Growing Autism Care Company