FBI “Cracks” Pennsylvania Chiro Scam

A Bucks County, Pennsylvania chiropractor was sentenced to three years in prison for scamming insurance companies out of almost $2 million in services that were never rendered.

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, 50-year-old Joseph Lerner hired masseuses and personal trainers to provide services at a gym and health club he owned in Horsham, PA known as “Horsham Fitness” and then billed insurance companies for chiropractic services he never rendered or supervised.

“Lerner suggested to people seeking to join the gym that they could obtain massages and personal training for the very low price of only a co-payment, usually $10, by having their health insurance pay for those massages and personal training sessions.”

Apparently, between 2007 and 2010 Lerner submitted nearly $3 million in billing to insurance companies which resulted in a payout of $1.9 million from companies  including Aetna Health Management, Independence Blue Cross, and Highmark Blue Shield as well as five other insurance carriers.

Thanks to the US Postal Inspectors and the FBI “cracking” the case, Lerner was sentenced to 36 months behind bars and ordered to pay $1,932,910.95 in restitution. Apparently, the government has already seized cash and bank accounts belonging to Lerner totaling more than $442, 834 to help with the restitution.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Mary E. Crawley and Laurie Magid.