Fraud News Around the Nation
State authorities say a New Jersey chiropractor whose license was revoked more than a decade ago played a role in a medical fraud ring that allegedly stole nearly $4 million from insurance companies.
Philip Potacco faces numerous counts, including conspiracy and money laundering, in an indictment made public Friday. The 62-year-old Kinnelon resident would face several decades in prison if convicted on all counts, but his attorney says he plans to plead not guilty.
Authorities say Potacco used a medical consulting group to recruit accident victims and people who staged car crashes so he could submit bogus insurance claims. He also allegedly hired a licensed chiropractor to serve as a front man of a practice Potacco himself ran for five years.
The state’s Chiropractic Examiners Board revoked Potacco’s license for misconduct in 2002.
A Florida Keys man and his daughter have been convicted of making fraudulent claims for losses stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Both 73-year-old Raul Rioseco and 50-year-old Caridad Rioseco Alejandrez pleaded guilty recently to making false claims. Raul Rioseco has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison. His daughter faces up to 20 years behind bars at sentencing in July in Key West.
Federal prosecutors say Raul Rioseco submitted claims based on supposed losses from his lobster fishing business. But evidence showed he had long been retired. He received about $35,900 in phony claims.
Caridad Rioseco Alejandrez claimed her tax preparation business had suffered from the oil spill because her commercial fishing customers lost income. Prosecutors said she obtained $55,000 in fraudulent claims.
A woman convicted of setting fire to a bar and grill she co-owned in the South Dakota town of Herreid to get insurance money has been granted a new trial.
A jury in February found 42-year-old Lori Brandner guilty of arson, conspiracy to commit arson and filing a fraudulent insurance claim.
The American News reports defense attorney Brad Schreiber filed a motion for a new trial, citing concerns over jury instructions. A judge agreed, and granted a new trial for Aug. 3-5. She has been released on bond.
Authorities say Brandner and three others set fire to the business on Jan. 21, 2015, and that Brandner later submitted a $310,000 insurance claim.
Tyler Ambrust and Ryan Kaelberer, of Minot, North Dakota, were sentenced in February to a year in prison for arson conspiracy. Cheyenne Davis, of Pollock, awaits sentencing on the same charge.