Felon charged for posing as a certified therapist at autism treatment center after FOX 2 investigation

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A convicted felon from Oakland County was charged for posing as a board-certified therapist at an autism treatment center in 2018. She was from the facility in 2021.

Kimberly Casey Coden Diskin, 34, was charged with sixteen counts of unauthorized practice of a health profession and two counts of identity theft. She is also a convicted felon with two cases of identity theft and larceny from a building. 

The Michigan Attorney General's Office investigated the incident after FOX 2's story aired last year.  The identity theft and fraud had been going on for years.

She is facing 20 felony counts in all for identity theft and using someone else's medical licensing and certification to pose as a board-certified behavioral analyst. In fact, she headed up the specialized autistic therapy program at Oxford Recovery Center in Brighton.

Kim Harden's daughter was formerly at the facility with Diskin. She previously had sent her then 10-year-old non-verbal daughter to the facility.

"Ever since the news came out I have been speechless and shaking," she said. "I feel like we have finally been heard and taken seriously, and I know this wouldn’t have been possible if you haven’t been there for us to share our story."

Harden said she has literally been shaking since she heard the news that Kimberly Casey Coden Diskin - or Casey Diskin as she's most recently known, has been charged.

Last summer - Harden courageously told us about Diskin last year detailing.the negative emotional and physical changes she began to see in her 10-year-old non-verbal daughter Kennedy.

FOX 2's Taryn Asher learned Casey Diskin wasn't who she claimed to be -  in fact she was a convicted felon - and documents showed -she had been using this woman -  Kimberly Peck's medical credentials and certification number for years.

Complaints went nowhere and criminal cases closed until FOX 2 got involved which led to the investigation by the attorney general and the health care fraud division.

"I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights we have panic attacks," Harden said. "My daughter is still dealing with issues – I can finally say that I am getting my happy girl back."

Diskin has since been fired from oxford recovery - but reportedly - Diskin and CEO Tami Peterson who hired and defended Diskin, remain close.

In fact - sources tell FOX 2 the state attorney general's office which brought the charges against Diskin - is still investigating Peterson and what else may be going on at the for-profit autism facility.

In June - the Oxford Recovery Center celebrated a grand opening - for its new $12 million expansion and investigators are looking to see if all the charges to medical insurance - add up.

"I feel like I am going to cry I can’t even express the gratitude I feel that we are moving forward to hopefully not have this happen in the future," she said. "Our kids deserve better than this."

Harden told FOX 2 that her daughter Kennedy had come home upset with unexplained injuries and progress regression.

Harden learned she wasn't alone and that several families had the same concerns. In 2020, several concerned parents went to Michigan State Police and filed their complaints.

Diskin started working at the Oxford Recovery Center in Brighton in 2018 and was fired in 2021.

While she worked at the center she continuously said she was a Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA) even though she wasn't certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). She also wasn't licensed by the state which is required under the Michigan Public Health Code.

Diskin repeatedly presented herself as a certified BCBA through verbal statements, written documents and professional business cards.

She allegedly held job duties that required certification and license while working with a highly vulnerable population of children diagnosed with autism as well as their parents.

Diskin also allegedly fraudulently used someone else's BACB certification number to make her own certificate and present herself as legitimate.

FOX 2 spoke with Dr. Kimberly Peck last year, the BCBA whose information was used fraudulently.

"This is her third job using my certification number. I have reported it a number of times to multiple regulatory (bodies) in the state of Michigan and other agencies to the point my certification board has reassigned me a new number," Dr. Peck said.

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

The case is still under investigation by the Attorney General's Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD). A probable cause conference is set for August 30.