The company allegedly charged insurers as much as $30,000 a day for treatment while promising parents little or no out-of-pocket expenses

The FBI is investigating The Perfect Child, a Brooklyn-based autism therapy provider accused of inflating insurance claims, charging for treatments it never delivered, and leaving families with enormous bills.

The investigation follows a Wall Street Journal report that exposed questionable billing practices across the rapidly expanding autism-therapy industry. The company allegedly charged insurers as much as $30,000 a day for treatment while promising parents little or no out-of-pocket expenses.

Families face massive bills
One New Jersey mother, Carolina Lopez, received an unexpected $911,400 bill for therapy provided to her autistic son, Ezekiel. The company initially promised immediate treatment at no additional cost.

However, her insurer, Highmark, stopped paying the claims after questioning the charges and requesting supporting documents.

Other families reported similarly shocking bills. One Tennessee mother received a bill approaching $1.5 million for about a year of treatment. The company also allegedly demanded that she grant it power of attorney to pursue payment from her insurer.

In another case, the provider billed an insurer $20,000 for two days of therapy, even though the child's mother had canceled the sessions.

FBI agents met with Highmark representatives in July, interviewed Lopez in September, and obtained company bills and other records in October. Insurers Aetna and Elevance Health are also investigating the provider.

Federal and Congressional scrutiny
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce has separately requested documents to examine whether industry reimbursement practices have contributed to rising healthcare costs.

The scrutiny comes as autism-therapy spending surges. Federal and state taxpayers spent $10 billion on applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy in 2025, compared with $2 billion in 2021.

The Perfect Child continues to operate and has recently sued at least five patient families. Its owner, Simcha Bendet, has not responded to requests for comment.