Milwaukee man stole $124K meant for son's autism therapy, prosecutors say
Alper Kolcu
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man with an open stalking case is now accused of stealing $124,000 meant for the provider of his son's therapy for autism.
Alper Kolcu, 39, faces one count of theft from a business setting (greater than $100,000) and one count of felony bail jumping.
Prosecutors say Kolcu's son received autism therapy through InBloom Autism Services. Kolcu was his son's insurance holder, ordered by the court to maintain health insurance for the child, held through Anthem Insurance. He had a "pay to patient" agreement where, for an out-of-network provider, Anthem would send the check directly to Kolcu, and Kolcu was to then pay the provider, InBloom Autism Services, with that check.
According to a criminal complaint, a review of Kolcu's bank records showed he made no payments to InBloom despite receiving $124,975.31 from Anthem intended for payment of InBloom services between September 2020 and July 2022. The investigation revealed the Anthem checks had been sent to Kolcu's Milwaukee home with instructions that the funds were to be used to pay the provider, with prosecutors noting 71 claims processed by Anthem for InBloom services during this period.
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Instead, according to prosecutors, Kolcu deposited the money into his bank account and essentially kept it. Bank account records showed frequent withdrawals and transfers, with "Anthem checks used to fund those withdrawals/transfers."
In May, Kolcu received a "payment demand letter" from InBloom, ordering him to pay his outstanding $100K-plus balance, but still, no payments were made, prosecutors say.
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Kolcu was out on bond in a stalking case filed in 2019. He's charged with stalking, domestic abuse assessments and misuse of a GPS device to obtain information.
Online court records show an arrest warrant was issued for Kolcu on Monday, Sept. 26.