| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Millions in possible insurance kickbacks probed
Wednesday June 18, 2003By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO (AP) California and Nevada officials raided lawyers' homes and offices Wednesday, searching for evidence to back their suspicion the attorneys took more than $2 million worth of insurance claim kickbacks.
They executed 10 search warrants Wednesday in Sacramento, Las Vegas and Los Angeles County targeting lawyers they suspect took the kickbacks for their referrals of clients with workers' compensation and auto insurance medical claims.
No arrest warrants have been issued. The material seized Wednesday will be considered by the Sacramento County district attorney's office as it considers bringing charges in the case, officials said.
Wednesday's searches grew out of eight searches conducted Jan. 15 in the Sacramento area of three Baldini & DePaoli Chiropractic clinics, three homes, and two storage facilities all affiliated with the clinics. The California Department of Insurance alleges the clinics overbilled insurance companies for treatments never received by patients.
An office manager said neither chiropractor was available to comment. Messages left for the chiropractors were not returned Wednesday.
Acting on a tip, the department had an undercover investigator hired as a clerk at the chiropractic firm. The agent found patients would sign in, but then work out at a gymnasium next door without being treated, the department alleged. It said a number of patients had multiple accounts which were billed to different insurance companies for the same treatment on the same day.
The department seized about 2,700 patient files, X-rays, computer equipment and file cabinets in January.
``We realized it was only the tip of the iceberg,'' said Kathy Scholz, the department's fraud division bureau chief.
The records showed a pattern where attorneys in different geographic areas would send clients to a chiropractor in their area under contract, the department said. The chiropractor would bill the patient's insurance company and a percentage of the receipts were forwarded to a separate company the department said also was involved in the alleged scheme.
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