Posted on 11/07/2026 11:26:23 AM PST by Morgana
PROSPECT, Tenn. (WSMV) - Every tap on wind chimes, ringing of the doorbell, and clapping with her mother is part of the language of 15-year-old Sophia Finocchio.
Sophia has Down syndrome, is nonverbal and has autism. For years, her family spent much of their days trying to understand her needs. But beginning in July 2025, Sophia made noticeable behavioral strides through in-home applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy provided by a company called The Perfect Child.
On its website, The Perfect Child advertises that it works with most commercial insurance plans and offers financial assistance.
What Sophia’s family did not anticipate was the bill that arrived in the mail after a year of treatment: a demand for $1.48 million.
“I almost had a heart attack,” said Sophia’s mother, Kiersten Messier. “You know, I don’t know where this is going. Are we going to court? Probably. I don’t really know.”
Now, a WSMV4 investigation has found that another Tennessee family is facing a six-figure bill from the company after insurance claims were denied — and the provider is already under active federal scrutiny from Congress over “unusually large insurance claims.”
$10,000 for a Three-Hour Session
Sophia’s family said the progress she made working with the in-house therapist was encouraging. But when the family’s health insurer began denying coverage, Messier started examining the billing records.
The invoices revealed that The Perfect Child was submitting claims under multiple entity names, including Growing Scholars, Simply Stars, and Precision ABA Group.
More alarming were the amounts: every single claim submitted was billed at approximately $10,000 for a single three-hour therapy session. On multiple occasions, records showed double billing on the same date, reaching $20,000 in a single day.
“It’s an extraordinarily high amount of money. It’s a ridiculous amount of money,” Messier said. “I’m like, why are there so many claims for this date? Like, what is going on?”
As claim denials mounted, the company then launched a barrage of phone calls, text messages, and emails pressuring the family to force their insurer to pay.
“It felt like they were after me to get these claims paid, get these claims paid, get these claims paid,” Messier said.
Then came a legal letter demanding the full $1.48 million balance — along with an ultimatum: sign over a limited power of attorney for Sophia so the company could pursue recovery directly against the health insurer on her behalf, or remain personally on the hook for the entire sum.
“I thought it was the craziest thing I’d ever seen in my entire life,” Messier said. ‘Where Did the Lines Get Crossed?’
The Messiers are not alone.
In Clarksville, Jason Elkins enrolled his daughter with autism in The Perfect Child for three years. Initial email exchanges assured the family their out-of-pocket obligation would be around $102 a month after insurance.
Instead, after their insurer began denying claims, the company billed the Elkins family more than $364,000.
“We were angry. We were very upset, very sad,” Elkins told WSMV4 Investigates. “Like, you know, where did the lines get crossed here?”
A Brooklyn Brownstone, Not an Office
To get answers, WSMV4 Investigates traveled to Brooklyn, New York, to the East 31st Street address listed on corporate filings and on payment instructions sent to Tennessee families.
Instead of a commercial corporate office, the address led to a residential home.
Public records show the property is owned by Simcha Bendet, who is listed on the company’s website as executive director. A lawyer bearing the same last name signed the formal collection demand sent to the Messier family.
When Chief Investigative Reporter Jeremy Finley knocked on the door, a woman answered:
Finley: “Is this the location for The Perfect Child?”
Woman: “I live here.”
Finley: “Are you related to Mr. Bendet?”
Woman: “Do I have to answer you?”
Finley: “I’m a journalist; I’m trying to find him.”
The woman took a business card and offered to ask Bendet to call. As of publication, Bendet and The Perfect Child have not responded to requests for comment by phone and through email.
The same day WSMV4 Investigates visited the Messier family, they received a voicemail from a company representative: Sophia’s therapy was terminated immediately.
“It’s scary to think about because we were really... give me just a second,” Messier said, holding back tears. “We were really getting somewhere.” Under Congressional Investigation
WSMV4 Investigates confirmed that lawmakers on Capitol Hill are already examining the company’s billing conduct.
In August, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce sent a formal inquiry to Simcha Bendet confirming a congressional investigation into the company’s healthcare pricing practices, specifically citing “unusually large insurance claims” and reporting from the Wall Street Journal.
The Elkins family is now taking part in a planned class action lawsuit with a law firm out of NYC. The firms confirmed to WSMV4 Investigates that the lawsuit should be filed this week.
WSMV4 Investigates will share its findings with congressional investigators and continue tracking developments in this case.
“Finocchio?”
You’ve got to be kidding!
“Like, you know, where did the lines get crossed here?”
I’m afraid they were born crossed for you ....New York anything is going to be a rip off.
Simcha is from the Hebrew and Bendet is from Yiddish.
How dare you ask someone to read the article, when what he wanted was for others to explain the article to him; and express admiration for his incisive questions. He thinks he’s Norah O’Donnell.
The name Simcha makes me think of Simcha Jacobovici - The Naked Archaeologist.
I cut slack when the full article is not posted but the number of times that FReepers have asked questions that are answered in the article has finally driven me over the edge.
:starts running in circles yelling "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!":
I love your tagline!!! Don’t expect anyone to read it, however LOL LOL
Huh? Are you quoting me? I never said that.
Optimist!
I dare say most won't even read a label before coughing up at the cash register, and you want them to read an entire article?
Quote is from the woman who got ripped off...not you mate. Sorry for any confusion.
Quote is from the woman who got ripped off...not you mate. Sorry for any confusion.
You’re absolutely correct. They load you up with acronyms, vague terms, multisyllabic medical terms lies and obfuscations designed to make you give up.
My wife has been treated for breast cancer. Many of the post treatment items we were assured coverage on are now magically not covered. They aren’t major expenses but it’s a frustration.
Luckily, she doesn’t live in Italy, where her name has a vulgar meaning as well as the regular one of “fennel”.
But here in Germany I once knew a cultural attachée of the Italian embassy named dott. Mezzasalma. That means “half-corpse” in Italian - or “demi-lich”, if you are an Italian Dungeons and Dragons player…
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