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NEWARK
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow announced
that the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor,
under the leadership of Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi, today
charged eleven individuals, including three
chiropractors, with various offenses for
their alleged roles in two separate schemes
which used “runners” to recruit
patients to the chiropractors’ practices.
The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
also executed eight search warrants today
at the homes and offices of the chiropractors,
as part of their investigation regarding
these alleged schemes.
The
three chiropractors were arrested this morning
at their residences, and detectives also
arrested a number of runners. The investigation
is ongoing.
As
charged in the complaints, the chiropractors
used runners to identify and contact individuals
who had recently been involved in motor
vehicle accidents. The runners would then
recruit those individuals to undergo chiropractic
treatment. The chiropractors paid the runners
money for recruiting patients to their practices.
The recruitment of patients by the runners,
and the subsequent treatment, enabled the
chiropractors to file claims for payment
from multiple insurance companies.
New
Jersey law includes an “anti-running
statute,” which imposes criminal penalties
for acting as a runner or using, directing,
or employing a runner. The statute defines
a runner as a person who attempts to procure
a patient or client at the direction of
and for a health care professional or attorney
in exchange for a pecuniary benefit, when
the health care professional or attorney
intends to assert a claim against an insured
person or an insurance carrier for providing
services to the patient or client. The anti-running
statute carries a presumptive sentence of
three to five years in state prison, as
well as other penalties.
“These
alleged schemes involved chiropractors recruiting
runners and runners recruiting patients,
all in the name of greed,” said Attorney
General Dow. “Such conduct corrupts
the insurance system because it gives powerful
financial incentives that can influence
a doctor’s treatment decisions to
maximize insurance billings.”
Attorney
General Dow and Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
Chillemi made the announcement at a press
conference in Newark with representatives
from the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
Office, the Division of Criminal Justice,
the Perth Amboy Police Department, and the
FBI.
“Insurance
fraud is a major reason why New Jersey’s
insurance rates, especially auto insurance
rates, are among the highest in the nation,”
said Prosecutor Chillemi. “The Office
of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor will vigorously
investigate and prosecute those who use
running schemes to defraud insurance companies,
and in turn, insurance consumers, who often
bear the cost of such fraud through increased
premiums.”
The
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
brought charges against the following two
chiropractic practices:
1.
Scott Greenberg, D.C.
According
to Prosecutor Chillemi, Scott Greenberg,
51, of Franklin Township, Somerset County,
a doctor of chiropractic, and six “runners”
were charged for their roles in an alleged
scheme to bring patients to Greenberg’s
practice. The complaints state that between
February 2010 and the present, the six runners
were paid a total of over $130,000 to recruit
numerous patients to his practice. Based
on the investigation to date, runners were
paid approximately $500 to over $1500 per
patient in this alleged scheme, and over
fifty patients were so recruited.
Greenberg
was charged with conspiracy (2nd degree),
money laundering (2nd degree), health care
claims fraud (2nd degree), misconduct by
a corporate official (2nd degree) and criminal
use of runners (3rd degree). Greenberg is
a licensed chiropractor and the owner/operator
of the New Jersey Chiropractic & Rehabilitations
Centres, with principal offices located
in New Brunswick.
In
addition, the following four runners were
charged with conspiracy (2nd degree), money
laundering (2nd degree), health care claims
fraud (2nd degree), money laundering (2nd
degree), and criminal use of runners (3rd
degree):
Orlando
Sanchez, 44, of Perth Amboy; Jimmy
A. Tovar, 35, of Perth Amboy; Abel
Tirado, 36, of Allentown, Pa.;
and Andres D. Sanchez Munoz,
42, of Perth Amboy.
In
this matter, the Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor also executed search warrants
at the following locations:
-
Central Jersey Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
Centres, located at 184 Livingston Ave.
in New Brunswick; and
- Greenberg’s
residence in Franklin Township.
2.
Christopher Montana, D.C. and Fernando Barrese,
D.C.
According
to Prosecutor Chillemi, two doctors of chiropractic
- Christopher Montana,
39, of Chester, Morris County, and Fernando
Barrese, 39, of Washington Township,
Bergen County – were arrested on charges
of second-degree conspiracy, second-degree
financial facilitation of criminal activity
(money laundering), third-degree filing
false and fraudulent tax returns, third-degree
commercial bribery and third-degree use
of runners. Montana and Barrese are the
owners of Chiropractic Centre of Elizabeth,
Chiropractic Centre of Newark and Chiropractic
Centre of Jersey City. Both currently hold
active chiropractic licenses.
The
complaints allege that Montana, Barrese
and Oleg Gorodetsky, the office manager
of Chiropractic Centre of Jersey City, conspired
to use runners, and to engage in financial
transactions which facilitated their scheme,
or which concealed the source of money derived
from this scheme. In this case, the runners
recruited over 50 patients.
Oleg
Gorodetsky, 41, of Staten Island,
was arrested on charges of second-degree
conspiracy, second degree financial facilitation
of criminal activity (money laundering),
third-degree commercial bribery and third-degree
use of runners.
Alcindor
Robin, 56, of Elizabeth, was charged
with second-degree conspiracy, second-degree
health care claims fraud and third-degree
use of runners. The complaint alleges that
Robin acted as a runner by soliciting patients
to receive medical treatment from doctors
who intended to file claims with insurance
companies. It is further alleged that, between
January 2006 and the present, Montana and
Barrese filed fraudulent tax returns.
The
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
today also executed search warrants at the
following locations:
-
Chiropractic Centre of Elizabeth, located
at 426 Morris Ave. in Elizabeth;
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Chiropractic Centre of Newark, located
at 509 Orange Street in Newark;
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Chiropractic Centre of Jersey City, located
at 30 Central Ave. in Jersey City;
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Paramount Chiropractic and Rehabilitation,
located at 330 State Street in Perth Amboy;
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Christopher Montana’s residence
in Chester; and
-
Fernando Barrese’s residence in
Washington Township.
Both
investigations remain ongoing, as do asset
forfeiture efforts. Today's charges are
merely accusations and the defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Because
the charges are indictable offenses, the
allegations must be presented to a state
grand jury for potential indictment. Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000.
Third-degree crimes carry a sentence of
three to five years in state prison. The
anti-running statute includes a presumption
of state prison, meaning that a person convicted
of running will almost certainly be sentenced
to state prison for a term of three to five
years. Third-degree crimes also carry a
criminal fine of up to $15,000, or up to
twice the amount of money the person gained
through the crime, whichever is greater.
The
investigations are being conducted and coordinated
by Assistant Attorney General John Kennedy,
Deputy Attorney General Steven Farman and
detectives from the Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor, the Division of Criminal
Justice, and the Perth Amboy Police Department.
The Asset Forfeiture aspect of the case
is being handled by Deputy Attorneys General
Carol Stanton Meier and Nina Bonner, Sergeant
Ronald Williams, Detective Matthew Armstrong,
and Analyst Bethany Schussler.
Attorney
General Dow thanked the Perth Amboy Police
Department under the command of Acting Chief
of Police Benjamin Ruiz, the New Jersey
Division of Taxation, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Newark Division, under
the direction of Special-Agent-in-Charge
Michael Ward, and the United States Attorney’s
Office for the District of New Jersey, under
the direction of United States Attorney
Paul J. Fishman. The Perth Amboy Police
Department, Division of Taxation, the F.B.I.
and the U.S. Attorney’s Office provided
valuable assistance in the investigations.
Prosecutor
Chillemi noted that several important cases
have started with anonymous tips. People
who are concerned about insurance cheating
and have information about a fraud can report
it anonymously by calling the toll-free
hotline at 1-877-55-FRAUD,
or visiting the Web site at www.NJInsurance
fraud.org. State regulations permit
a reward to be paid to an eligible person
who provides information that leads to an
arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance
fraud.
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