The US Attorney for Minnesota, Andy Luger, has filed charges against 21 individuals for conspiring to commit chiropractic insurance fraud. The chiropractors have billed “no-fault” insurance policies for upwards of US$20 million.
“The charges unsealed today represent a serious effort to expose crooked billing abuses that harm consumers,” Luger told
Fox News. “The Commerce Fraud Bureau and FBI continue to work closely with my office to ensure that our efforts to stop fraud and abuse are aligned with the interests of all Minnesotans.”
Documents show that from 2010 to 2015, Preston Forthun, Angela Schulz, Huy Nguyen, Adam Burke, and several other chiropractors allegedly participated in schemes to defraud automobile insurance companies.
These individuals would submit claims for unnecessary or fictional chiropractic services and receive reimbursements from automobile insurance companies.
Several patient recruiters, known as “runners”, made up to US$1,000 per vehicular accident in exchange for bringing patients to the chiropractors’ office. These runners would also conspire with patients to stage bogus accidents.
Auto insurance policies are required to come with a personal injury protection provision (PIP). The PIP has a minimum coverage amount of US$40,000 for expenses resulting from injuries coming from a vehicular accident. Half of this amount can be used for medical expenses.
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