FARMINGTON – An Industry man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he practiced physical therapy without a license at a Farmington nursing home.

Brent Dellarma, 44, was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury in November 2008 on felony charges of aggravated forgery, two counts of theft by deception and practicing unlicensed physical therapy.

Dellarma was employed as a physical therapy assistant and later as a licensed physical therapist at Sandy River Center for Health Care on Livermore Falls Road.

When management suspected that there might be a discrepancy with Dellarma’s license, he was suspended and later terminated. The management also contacted the Department of Health and Human Services, local authorities and the Maine Office of the Attorney General.

Dellarma is accused of committing aggravated forgery with an intent to defraud or deceive with submission of an invalid physical therapist license dated June 18, 2007.

Dellarma had a physical therapist assistant’s license at the time, according to state records, but is accused falsifying information to make it appear that he was licensed as a physical therapist. A state board of examiners’ permanently revoked the assistant therapist license in December 2008.

One of the theft charges stems from payments made to Dellarma by Genesis Rehabilitation Services in excess of $1,000 for work he provided under the impression that he was a licensed physical therapist, according to court documents.

The second theft charge results from alleged deception in receiving payments in excess of $10,000 from MaineCare, the state medical assistance program and Medicare, according to court documents.