Seven indicted in chiropractic scheme; 33-person bribery scheme claims another physician;

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> Seven people in Ohio, along with a Florida-based medical billing company, were indicted for fraud charges involving an experimental form of chiropractic manipulation at Shaker Heights Surgical Center in Cleveland. Defendants allegedly disregarded diagnoses, used false diagnoses and submitted false claims as part of a conspiracy to defraud insurance companies of millions of dollars, according to the Department of Justice. Announcement

> A Staten Island pediatrician that was part of a bribery scheme involving 33 people was sentenced to 37 months in prison for accepting payments in exchange for test referrals, the DOJ said. Demetrios Gabriel accepted bribes of $3,000 per month from Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services in return for referring patient blood specimens to the laboratory. Announcement

> An Atlanta acupuncturist was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for submitting false claims to Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield, the DOJ said. Shinkweon Park submitted claims for acupuncture, which is not reimbursable under Medicare, massage and physical therapy services that were not performed by licensed physical therapists, and doctor's visits that never occurred. Announcement

Health Finance News

> The DOJ is suing Omnicare under the False Claims Act for allegedly receiving millions in kickbacks from Abbott Laboratories for recommending the seizure drug Depakote for dementia patients in nursing homes. Article

> A New York radiologist has been charged with stealing personal health information from 97,000 patients. James Kessler, M.D., is accused of duplicating patient records from the computer system at his practice, but authorities say there is no evidence he used the information to open accounts or make purchases. Article

And finally ...  An Ohio town has officially banned Zombie nativity scenes. Article