Copyright held by The John Cooke Fraud Report. Reprint rights are granted with attribution to The John Cooke Fraud Report with a link to this website.
RIVERSIDE Investigators from the California DOI Fraud Division and the Riverside DA’s office arrested 23 medical professionals and office personnel and raided 16 locations in furtherance of an investigation into fraudulent insurance billing and capping in Riverside County.
The case, referred to as “Operation Hippocrates,” targeted medical doctors, chiropractors and office staff in the metropolitan and desert areas east of Los Angeles.
The arrests are the culmination of a two-year joint undercover investigation with the Riverside County DA’s Office and the NICB. The California State Bar assisted with the investigation. In addition, six insurance companies, including Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Safeco, State Farm, State Compensation Insurance Fund and USAA, provided investigative support.
Those arrested include three medical doctors, 13 chiropractors and seven office administrators and/or receptionists. Twelve clinics, one law office and three residences were searched by a team of more than 100 sworn peace officers.
During August 1994, a storefront operation was set up by the Riverside DA’s Office. J&J Associates was established for undercover investigators to contact the medical professionals and determine whether they were engaged in illegal capping schemes and over billing or billing for services not rendered.
Investigation revealed that medical professionals gave illegal kickbacks of between 15 and 33 percent of the entire bill per person/case. Cases were not paid in advance but when they were settled. Those arrested included Delores Ames (Moreno Valley), Kevin Bass (Studio City), Yolanda Beltran (Coachella), Ronald Cuccia, DC (Covina), Robert Dishman, DC (Palm Desert), Emmanuel Devera, MD (Laguna Niguel), Fawzi AbuElHaj, DC (Riverside), Arthur Hurtado, DC (San Bernadino), Richard Kataz, MD (Rancho Mirage), Eric Linden (Moreno Valley), Carmen Mayorga (MorenoValley), Gerald Pease, DC (Indio), Anthony Pirritano, DC (Corona), Lorraine Provenzano, DC (Bermuda Dunes), Elias Rached, DC (Riverside), Lance Rawlings, DC (Corona), Monique Tamez(Indio), Kenneth Toy, DC (Temecula), and Maria Valdez (Indio).
© Copyright 1997 Alikim Media