Federal fees have been filed towards 10 individuals, together with eight who work on the Port of Lengthy Seaside, accused of scheming to file fraudulent medical insurance claims for greater than $2.1 million for what truly have been sexual providers, officers mentioned Wednesday.
Sara Victoria, 46, of San Pedro, who prosecutors have accused of being the conspiracy’s ringleader, was charged Wednesday with one depend of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud and one depend of aggravated id theft. One other girl who labored with Victoria and eight dockworkers have been named within the alleged conspiracy.
From January 2017 to August 2021, Victoria owned three companies in San Pedro and Wilmington that supplied sufferers chiropractic providers, acupuncture remedies and likewise sexual providers, in accordance with a plea settlement signed by Victoria.
Victoria recruited girls from Lengthy Seaside strip golf equipment to supply sexual providers to dockworkers, who have been insured by way of the Worldwide Longshore and Warehouse Union – Pacific Maritime Affiliation (ILWU-PMA) profit plan, in accordance with courtroom paperwork.
The well being plan usually lined chiropractic providers and bodily remedy with no deductible or out-of-pocket bills, a information launch from the U.S. Justice Division mentioned.
In change for the sexual providers, shoppers would permit Victoria to submit false reimbursement claims for chiropractic providers and bodily remedy that have been by no means offered underneath their names, or to submit names of relations together with spouses and youngsters who didn't obtain providers, prosecutors mentioned. This allowed shoppers to proceed receiving sexual providers even after utilizing all their allotted visits lined by their insurance coverage for chiropractic providers.
Shoppers would additionally obtain money kickbacks, prosecutors mentioned.
Roughly $2,110,920 in claims have been submitted by Victoria to the ILWU-PMA plan, of which the plan paid roughly $551,810.
Victoria signed a plea settlement. After coming into a proper responsible plea, Victoria might face a statutory most sentence of 12 years in federal jail.
Eight different defendants signed plea agreements on conspiracy to commit well being care fraud fees.
One dockworker charged with one depend of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud, two counts of well being care fraud and one depend of constructing false statements to federal investigators pleaded not responsible. He was launched on a $20,000 bail and a trial is ready for November.
The FBI and the U.S. Labor Division investigated this case.