A former director at The Oxford Center in Brighton was recently denied bond as she appeals her case to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
In December 2024, Kimberly Casey Coden, 40, was sentenced to 4-6 years in prison for six counts of unauthorized practice of a health profession, 4-7.5 years for two counts of identity theft, and 4-6 years for one count of bribing and/or intimidating a witness, according to a press release from the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
Coden was previously director of services at The Oxford Center, which had locations in Brighton and Troy. She claimed she was a board-certified behavior analyst, but wasn’t licensed by the state and didn’t have an education in the field.
Both locations eventually closed after a five-year-old patient was killed in a hyperbaric chamber at the Troy location on January 31, 2025.
Coden worked at Oxford from 2018-21. She also spent several months at Centria Healthcare in 2016 and the Positive Behavior Supports Corporation from 2017-18.
She used business cards, verbal statements, written documents and created a fraudulent certificate using numbers from another state to conceal her activity. Coden had been under investigation for over a year before she was charged in August 2022.
Throughout 2025, Coden filed motions to correct an invalid sentence; to withdraw her guilty plea; and to a request a Ginther Hearing, which is granted to a defendant who claims they had ineffective legal representation; all of which were denied.
According to court documents, counts 7-16 were dismissed without prejudice in June 2025, meaning they can be refiled. Coden also challenged her imprisonment, arguing it is unlawful. That challenge has not yet been decided.
In October 2025, Coden filed an appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals, which is still under consideration.
On April 16, while waiting for a decision on the appeal, Coden appeared in the 44th Circuit Court before Judge Suzanne Geddis for a motion hearing to grant bond while the appeal is pending.
The defense cited a health issue and special dietary needs that Coden says are not being accommodated by the Michigan Department of Corrections as reason for the bond.
During the hearing, Geddis recalled incidents during criminal proceedings where Coden violated her bond terms. She said Coden did not appear for her final pretrial hearing, so it had to be rescheduled. In another instance, Geddis said Coden left a hearing, went to her car and drank from a bottle of whiskey before reporting to the probation office.
When addressing the medical issue, Geddis said it is an elective procedure that Coden can receive through MDOC. She also said she would be willing to look at the issue of accommodating Coden’s diet.
Geddis denied the request for bond and explained that she didn’t trust Coden not to violate bond conditions. She said after hearing testimony from the parents of Coden’s patients, she would have given Coden a life sentence if she could have.
— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Former Oxford Center director denied bond while appealing conviction
Reporting by Tess Ware, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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