AROUND THE WORLD CHIROPRACTIC
Davenport Chiropractor Appears on Bank Fraud, Money Laundering Charges in PPC Application
DAVENPORT, Iowa - A Davenport chiropractor made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday on a 14-count indictment.
Jason Rannfeldt, 51, is charged with seven counts of false statements to a financial institution, six counts of bank fraud, and one count of money laundering. Court records show he was indicted on March 7.
Rannfeldt owned and operated Rannfeldt Clinic or Rannfeldt Family Chiropractic between Oct. 1988 and April 2021, according to court documents. He claimed to own and operate four additional businesses; Perfect Fit Coaching, LLC; RC Orthotics, LLC and RC Performance Therapy LLC.
Court records show, between January 2021 and May 2021Rannfeldt submitted 11 false and misleading Paycheck Protection Program; or PPP, loan applications for the businesses, including false or fraudulent misrepresented tax documents.
Rannfeldt obtained or attempted to obtain approximately $1,100,000 in PPP loan funds with the submitted applications and documents, according to court records.
Rannfeldt submitted a false and misleading residential mortgage loan application on Aug. 9, 2021, to GreenState Credit Union with supporting documents containing false or fraudulent misrepresentations, according to court records. GreenState Credit Union approved a mortgage loan of $588,750.
Rannfeldt is set for a scheduling conference on April 11, with a trial tentatively set for May 1, according to court records. He was released on bond.
Source: KWQC.com
Chiropractor, Employees Convicted of Disability Fraud Conspiracy
ST. LOUIS, MO: Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri on November 15, 2015. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
A St. Louis jury convicted a chiropractor from Jefferson County, Missouri along with one current and one former employee of conspiring to commit disability fraud.
The verdict came Wednesday at the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse downtown. The U.S. Attorney's Office of Eastern Missouri made the announcement in a press release.
Vivian Carbone-Hobbs, 60, of Fenton, Missouri; Christina Barrera, 63, of St. Louis; and Clarissa Pogue, 39, of DeSoto, Missouri were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration. Carbone-Hobbs was convicted of 10 counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of money theft from the U.S. Pogue was convicted of one count of money theft from the U.S.
Carbone-Hobbs is the co-owner of Power-Med Inc., a chiropractic clinic in Arnold, Missouri, with her husband Thomas G. Hobbs.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the three conspired with each other and others to fraudulently obtain disability payments for patients.
Jurors were told by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry, in exchange for upfront fees of thousands of dollars, the conspirators would coach those patients on how to conceal their abilities so they would seem unable to work and perform many of the basic functions of life, like lifting, sitting, standing and walking. Patients also had to pay hundreds of dollars for annual appointments to keep qualifying for disability payments, Berry said.
An undercover investigator who was not injured went to Carbone-Hobbs' business and said, “I’m just tired of working,” and was then told, “You’re going out, you’re going to be permanently disabled,” Berry said, quoting an undercover video of the conversation.
Carbone-Hobbs was also billing insurance companies for services that were not provided, the press release states.
All three are scheduled to be sentenced May 4. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both. The health care fraud and theft charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison and the same fine. They will also be ordered to repay the money.
Carbone-Hobbs’ husband, Thomas G. Hobbs, 65, pleaded guilty in January to a conspiracy charge and admitted conspiring to commit the crimes of health care fraud, making false statements, theft of government funds and Social Security fraud.
Hobbs is scheduled to be sentenced April 19.
Source: Thelntelligencer.com
Pass on the information to warn other DCs about events that are really happening to chiropractors. If you see an article in your local, regional, or national news about chiropractic or a fellow chiropractor, e-mail or mail it to us at: editorialUfamchiropractor.com or #C0138, 8530 NW 72nd St., Miami, FL 33166.
