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By Miriam Raftery
November 13, 2015 (San Diego)--On Tuesday, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced grand jury indictments of medical providers and their associates for accepting bribes and kickbacks for referring and/or treating injured workers in California's workers compensation system.
Detectives from the California Department of Insurance along with agents from the FBI investigated and then arrested the eight individual defendants, who along with six corporate defendants, are charged with criminal violations in the indictments.
The indictments include a San Diego chiropractor, among others.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said she expects state charges to be filed in some of the ongoing investigations, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
State Insurance Commisioner Dave Jones states, “Medical care should be provided based on what is medically necessary to treat the patient. When medical providers accept bribes and kickbacks for referrals or treatment, patients cannot be sure that they are getting the care they need as opposed to the care that generates the most bribes and kickbacks.
He added, “Injured workers deserve better. Fraud is not a victimless crime. All of us end up paying, in the form of higher premiums, when insurance companies are defrauded by medical providers charging for treatments that are not necessary or inflated in cost.”
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