- Print Text
- Main Office
One Hogan Place
New York, NY 10013
212-335-9000 - Click for More Contact Info
|
DISTRICT ATTORNEY - NEW YORK COUNTY |
||
|
NEWS RELEASE |
Contact: Jennifer Kushner |
|
Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today the indictment of 11 persons for operating a fraudulent “medical mill” that bilked insurance companies of more than $6.2 million. Among the defendants, charged in an 84-count indictment with Enterprise Corruption and other criminal offenses, are three medical doctors, a chiropractor, two acupuncturists, and 10 corporations. Two other people who assisted in the criminal affairs of the enterprise have been charged in separate indictments. The enterprise charged in the indictment used so-called “runners” to stage phony motor vehicle accidents and bring ostensibly injured parties to a clinic at 1090 St. Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan. Services at the clinic were provided by medical doctors and other healthcare professionals, who were part of the enterprise. In the case of staged accidents, there were no actual injuries to treat, but the medical providers prescribed unnecessary treatments, procedures and medical equipment, falsified medical records and other documents and submitted false claims to insurance companies. In some instances, the services billed for were provided only in part or not provided at all. The enterprise followed the same fraudulent practices with persons who came into the clinic with injuries from real accidents, billing insurers for treatment or equipment that either was unnecessary or was not actually provided. Four management and realty companies and six professional corporations were used to conceal parts of the operation and to launder the proceeds. Over a five year period, the enterprise stole more than $6.2 million from a dozen insurance companies, including GEICO and Allstate, and from Enterprise, the car-rental company, which was self-insured. At the top of the criminal enterprise’s hierarchy was GREGORY VINARSKY and the companies he incorporated. VINARSKY paid the “runners” to stage car accidents and bring uninjured passengers to the enterprise’s clinic. VINARSKY was not a licensed physician and for that reason could not legally exercise control over the clinic. However, he did exercise control and directed the medical providers to prescribe unnecessary tests, procedures, durable medical equipment and other medically unnecessary courses of treatment. Further VINARSKY used his four companies, VIGAR MANAGEMENT CO., INC., UPPERSIDE MGT. CO., INC., SAINT NICHOLAS AVE. REALTY, INC. and REVICK REALTY, INC., and their bank accounts, to conceal his operation and control of the professional corporations and to launder the proceeds of the criminal scheme. More than $3.5 million of the insurance proceeds illegally taken in by the enterprise was traced to VINARSKY and his four companies. The next tier of the criminal enterprise included medical doctors, other licensed healthcare providers, and the professional corporations they used to conduct business. All the providers worked out of the St. Nicholas Avenue clinic. Among them were ARON GOLDMAN, a medical doctor, and his professional corporation, SAINT NICHOLAS AV. MEDICAL CARE, P.C.; CHANTAL HILAIRE, a medical doctor; MATTHEW KESCHNER, a chiropractor, and his two professional corporations, MATTHEW G. KESCHNER, D.C., P.C. and CHIROPRACTIC SPECIALTIES OF NEW YORK, LLC; YAKOV BLETNITSKIY, an acupuncturist, and his professional corporation, ORIENT ACUPUNCTURE SERVICE, P.C.; YING MU, an acupuncturist; and ROMAN TABAKMAN, a medical doctor, and his professional corporations, EAST SIDE NEURO DIAGNOSTICS, P.C. and ROMAN MEDICAL SERVICES, P.C. According to the indictment, the health care providers, GOLDMAN, HILAIRE, KESCHNER, BLETNITSKIY, MU, and TABAKMAN, all falsified medical reports, patient evaluations, and other documents for submission to insurance carriers in support of fraudulent claims for reimbursement, and they routinely prescribed unnecessary tests, procedures, durable medical equipment, and other medically unnecessary courses of treatment to facilitate the criminal scheme. GOLDMAN, KESCHNER, BLETNITSKIY, and TABAKMAN also used their professional corporations and their bank accounts, to launder the proceeds of the group’s criminal scheme and to conceal VINARSKY’S unlawful control of the professional corporations. The next tier of the enterprise comprised clinic employees responsible for administration of the medical clinic, communication with patients, transportation of patients, and preparation of documents and billing for submission to insurance carriers. It is alleged that NIDIA CORADIN, who was the front desk manager at the clinic, solicited patients, paid runners who brought uninjured passengers to the clinic for treatment, falsified prescriptions and other medical documents, and directed patients to falsify no-fault insurance applications, receipts for durable medical equipment, and other documents. This tier also included clinic employees who acted as technicians and performed medical tests and procedures, such as biofeedback, electrocardiograms, and nerve conduction studies. NIRMALEE MARRERO, TABAKMAN’S technical assistant, falsified medical reports and other documents for submission to insurance carriers, and NATALIA NEVEROVA, administered bogus biofeedback procedures to patients, thereby enabling members of the enterprise to submit falsified medical reports and other documents to facilitate the group’s criminal scheme. The fourth tier was made up of runners, including CORADIN and ELEUTERIO SUERO. The indictment charges that ELEUTERIO SUERO, who was paid to stage car accidents and bring uninjured passengers to the clinic, forced another runner, at gun point, to stage an accident. The indictment charges VINARSKY, GOLDMAN, HILAIRE, KESCHNER, BLETNITSKIY, MU, TABAKMAN, MARRERO, NEVEROVA, CORADIN, SUERO, and the ten corporations with Enterprise Corruption, Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, and two counts of Grand Larceny in the First Degree. VINARSKY, GOLDMAN, and their corporations are also charged with Money Laundering in the First Degree, and they along with KESCHNER, BLETNITSKIY, and TABAKMAN and their corporations are charged with Money Laundering in the Second Degree. The Grand Jury also charged VINARSKY, GOLDMAN, HILAIRE, TABAKMAN, CORADIN and SUERO, with specific instances of Insurance Fraud in the Third and Fourth Degrees. NEVEROVA, as well as separately charged MARGARET DEJESUS, a runner, are charged with Insurance Fraud in the Third Degree, and KESHNER and MARRERO are charged with Insurance Fraud in the Fourth Degree. VINARSKY, GOLDMAN, KESCHNER, BLETNITSKIY, MU, TABAKMAN, and SUERO are charged with Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. SUERO is charged with Coercion in the First Degree. MARGARITA SERPER, a social worker, is separately charged with Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and Insurance Fraud in the Fifth Degree. In a separate indictment, the Grand Jury charged VINARSKY with four counts of violating Tax Law 1804(b) and four counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Third Degree for underreporting his New York State income by more than $1.4 million over a four year period. Enterprise Corruption, Grand Larceny in the First Degree, and Money laundering in the First Degree are Class B felonies, each punishable by up to 8 1/3-to-25 year in prison, plus monetary penalties. Money Laundering in the Second Degree is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 5-to-15 years in prison, plus monetary penalties. Insurance Fraud in the Third Degree is a Class D felony, punishable by up to 2 1/3-to-7 years in prison, plus monetary penalties. Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, Insurance Fraud in the Fourth Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, and violating Tax Law §1804(b) are Class E felonies, each punishable by up to 1 1/3-to-4 years in prison plus monetary penalties. In addition, the District Attorney’s Office has begun a civil forfeiture action against the 11 individuals and 10 corporations charged with Enterprise Corruption to recover the more than $6.2 million the defendants stole over the five-year period that was the subject of the investigation. Mr. Morgenthau thanked Det. Samuel Guest, Det. Arnaldo Rodriguez, Lt. Edwin Martinez, and Sgt. John Moran of the New York City Police Department’s Fraudulent Accident Investigation Squad; Barbara Ann Chapman of GEICO; Gerald Larocco of MetLife; Joe Valvana of the National Insurance Crime Bureau; and Investigator Gary Anderson of the New York State Insurance Frauds Bureau, all of whom assisted with the investigation. Assistant District Attorneys Karen Schlossberg, Judith Weinstock, and Michael Ohm, of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Frauds Bureau, presented this case to the Grand Jury under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael Kitsis and Deputy Bureau Chiefs Jeannette Molina and Micki Shulman. Supervising Financial Investigator Brian Crowe and paralegals Emily Donohoe, Jason Fuhrman, Kristen McKeon, Alexandra Shookoff, Yiyang Wu, and Paul Cossu assisted in the investigation, as did analysts from the Financial Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Frank Puma. Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Herbert, of the Asset Forfeiture Unit, is directing the civil forfeiture action under the supervision of Unit Chief Tara Miner. Defendant Information: GREGORY VINARSKY a/k/a Gary Vinarsky, DOB: 3/29/46 ARON GOLDMAN, DOB: 8/26/51 CHANTAL HILAIRE, DOB: 5/27/62 MATTHEW KESCHNER, DOB: 10/15/72 YAKOV BLETNITSKIY, DOB: 6/13/95 YING MU, DOB: 6/25/35 ROMAN TABAKMAN, DOB: 8/9/55 NIRMALEE MARRERO, DOB: 5/24/75 NATALIA NEVEROVA, DOB: 7/3/74 NIDIA CORADIN, DOB: 8/22/69 ELEUTERIO SUERO, a/k/a Tim, a/k/a Jose, DOB: 9/9/77 MARGARET DEJESUS, DOB: 7/14/68 MARGARITA SERPER, DOB: 1/16/64
###
|
||