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DISTRICT ATTORNEY - NEW YORK COUNTY |
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NEWS RELEASE |
Contact: Jennifer Kushner |
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Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the sentencing of two physicians, VICTOR BASBUS and GERARDO YANAYACO who participated in a criminal enterprise run out of medical clinics, which stole millions of dollars by defrauding no-fault insurance companies as well as the New York City Transit Authority, which is self-insured. BASBUS was sentenced to two to six years in prison on all 13 counts of the indictment to run concurrent. YANAYACO was sentenced to 10 months in jail on all five counts of the indictment to run concurrent. Today’s court proceedings complete the investigation into a large-scale insurance scam, involving 21 individuals, in which the New York City Transit Authority and private insurance companies were falsely billed for professional medical services that were never provided. Nineteen other defendants, who also participated in the criminal enterprise, have already plead guilty, including ABRAHAM PUSTILNIK, aka ABRAHAM POST, and ISABELLA PUSTILNIK, aka ISABELLA POST, who have each plead guilty to Enterprise Corruption and have agreed to pay four million dollars in restitution. In addition, two doctors, a psychologist, a physical therapist, two acupuncturists, a social worker, managers and administrators at the clinics, a medical billing company, and five professional corporations have also plead guilty. The evidence at trial proved that BASBUS and YANAYACO carried out the directives of ABRAHAM PUSTILNIK and his mother, ISABELLA PUSTILNIK, who controlled and operated the criminal enterprise, by falsifying comprehensive medical reports, patient evaluations, treatment notes and other documents for submission to insurance carriers in support of fraudulent claims for reimbursement, and prescribing medically unnecessary courses of treatment to facilitate the criminal enterprises’ larcenies, insurance fraud, and related criminal schemes. The two-part investigation began in 2003 when insurance investigators from the New York City Transit Authority’s Special Investigation Unit, working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Rackets Bureau, began an undercover investigation into PREMIER MEDICAL CARE, PC, a clinic at 99 University Place, in Greenwich Village. Separately in 2004, investigators from the New York Police Department’s Fraudulent Accident Investigation Squad began an undercover operation at the OMNI MEDICAL CARE, PC clinic at 2044 Ocean Avenue, in Brooklyn, New York. An examination of financial records revealed that the clinics billed more than 60 insurance carriers for millions of dollars in claims over a ten year period. The investigation revealed that both were owned and operated by the PUSTILNIKs. The investigation further revealed that the two PUSTILNIKs, neither of whom is a doctor, operated and surreptitiously owned PREMIER MEDICAL CARE, PC and OMNI MEDICAL CARE, PC. They also owned AAA EMPIRE MEDICAL MANAGEMENT, aka EMPIRE MEDICAL MANAGEMENT, a medical billing company. In addition, they were the covert owners of five medical corporations: both medical clinics, PREMIER MEDICAL and OMNI MEDICAL, as well as UNIVERSITY PSYCHOLOGICAL, PC, FOCUS ACUPUNCTURE, PC and OPTIMAL HEALTHCARE MEDICAL, PC. The investigation also revealed that ABRAHAM PUSTILNIK and ISABELLA PUSTILNIK used licensed professionals as ‘fronts’ or “Docs-in-the-Box” for the professional corporations to disguise their ownership of the clinics. New York State law specifically prohibits the “corporate practice of medicine” and does not allow a medical practice or clinic to be directly owned by anyone other than medical doctors. Assistant District Attorneys Deborah Hickey and Matthew Singer, who are assigned to the Rackets Bureau, handled the prosecutions under the supervision of Rackets Bureau Chief Patrick Dugan, and Deputy Bureau Chiefs Eric Seidel and Daniel Cort. Rackets Chief Financial Investigator John Tampa, Financial Investigator Robert Tarwacki, Jr., and Investigator Louis Richardson of the District Attorney's Investigation Bureau conducted the investigation. For their assistance in the investigation, Mr. Morgenthau thanked: the New York City Transit Authority and their Special Investigations Unit; the New York City Police Department – Transit Bureau; the New York City Police Department -Fraudulent Accident Investigation Squad - South; the National Insurance Crime Bureau; GEICO Direct Insurance Company and their SIU Unit, St. Pauls Travelers Insurance Companies and their SIU Unit, the New York State Department of Education, Office of the Professions, the New York State Insurance Frauds Bureau, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for enhancing the investigation. Defendants’ Information: 2044 Ocean Avenue 99 University Place Brooklyn, NY New York, NY Focus Acupuncture, P.C. 2044 Ocean Avenue 99 University Place Brooklyn, NY New York, NY
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