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WHEELING CHIROPRACTOR AMONG 5 CHARGED IN $10.8M HEALTH CARE FRAUD SCHEME
Chicago, IL-- A Wheeling chiropractor and two of his relatives are among five people facing federal charges in connection with a $10.8 million health care fraud scheme.
Dr. Vladimir Gordin Jr., his father Vladimir Gordin Sr. and his brother Alexsander Gordin billed insurance for services that were either never perfonned or were medically unnecessary, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office. The trio operated Gordin Medical Center S.C., a chiropractic group at 350 E. Dundee Road in Wheeling, the statement said.
In all, the scheme cost insurance carriers more than $ 10.8 million over a six-year period, authorities claim.
Some patients knew about the overbilling and were incentivized to participate, prosecutors claim. According to an indictment, they were promised their deductibles would be met at no cost to them, or they got checks from the Gordins with a share of the overbilling proceeds.
Alina Levit, the Gordin’s office manager, is also charged in the case for creating phony “sign-in” sheets that indicated patients were present and received services, when they actually did not visit the office that day, prosecutors claim.
A fifth defendant, Michelle Kobran, owned Ultrasound Mobile Service in Vernon Hills and kicked back money to the Gordins after they referred her patients for medically unnecessary ultrasounds, prosecutors said.
All five defendants are facing multiple counts of health care fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Vladimir Gordin Jr., of Northbrook, and his father, ofRiverwoods, aie also charged with aggravated identity theft.
The fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Source: http: Chicago, sun limes, com
Broward County Chiropractor Arrested Following $1.5 Million Insurance Fraud Scam
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater today announced the arrest of Broward County Chiropractor
Eric Wiegandt, 41, on multiple felony fraud charges related to a $1.5 million insurance fraud scheme. A joint state and federal investigation led by the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud revealed that Wiegandt allegedly orchestrated a scheme in which he fraudulently billed Blue Cross Blue Shield for services that were never rendered at his clinic, the Broward Spine and Rehab Center, located in Hollywood.
Investigators believe that between 2013 and early 2015, Eric Wiegandt fraudulently signed and submitted nearly $1.5 million worth of fictitious and falsely represented insurance claims. In return, Wiegandt received commission payments from BCBS in excess of $230,000.
In the early spring of 2014. following months of mismanagement and after losing his license for failure to complete continuing education requirements. Wiegandt was evicted from his practice location in Coral Gables and opened a new location in Hollywood. The Hollywood Police Department became aw aie of Wiegandt’s now unlicensed practice and arrested him for continuing to conduct insurance-related business without an active license.
Shortly after, the Hollywood Police Department brought in the Division of Insurance Fraud to review the insurance transactions related to the clinic’s day-to-day operations. As a result, investigators discovered that Blue Cross Blue Shield had flagged Eric Wiegandt during a proactive data analysis after recognizing that his practice produced exceptionally high totals in number of visits per patient and total amounts billed.
Records show that patients who previously visited Wiegandt’s Coral Gables location were allegedly receiving duplicative treatments in his newest Hollywood location, all of which were being billed to BCBS. After multiple interviews were conducted with the alleged patients, most were found to have never received treatments and many had never been to the Hollywood location.
Wiegandt was arrested on eight counts of healthcare fraud and the case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida. Multiple agencies contributed to the successful conclusion of this case including: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, The Hollywood Police Department, as well as the Inspector General for the Federal Office of Personnel Management and the U.S. Postal Service.
Source:http://www. myfloridacfo. com/ QS
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