Synopsis: A federal grand jury has indicted an Illinois chiropractor and a physician, Darwin Minnis, D.C., and Jacob Salomon, M.D. for defrauding the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Program by materially false and fraudulent means.
Editor’s comment: Two Illinois healthcare givers, Dr. Salomon and Chiro Minnis, the latter of which owns Spine and Joint Rehabilitation Center in Maywood, IL, have been indicted on federal health care fraud charges. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine. The indictment was announced in March 2010 by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney. We note a brief Westlaw search under Illinois Workers’ Compensation Cases and Administrative Decisions produced numerous “hits” for both Dr. Minnis and Dr. Salomon.
In Unites States v. Darwin Minnis, Jacob Salomon, and Gary Strauss, 10 CR 0193, Unites States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, the federal government accuses Dr. Minnis, Dr. Salomon, and “biller” Gary Strauss of submitting false claims which total more than one million dollars. The false claims were submitted to obtain payments from workers’ compensation and other insurance companies for services which were either not provided or for inflated claims for provided services. The alleged scheme took place from 2000 through 2007.
According to the 18 count indictment, Dr. Minnis forged the signatures of other physicians on documents which falsely represented treatment had been ordered or supervised. The indictment alleges Dr. Minnis committed these forgeries as he knew the federal workers’ compensation program would not accept a chiropractor’s opinions or reports as medical evidence to support workers’ compensation claims. Further, Dr. Minnis is accused of double-billing workers’ compensation providers for disability examinations.
In addition, the indictment alleges Dr. Salomon signed false documents which made it appear he or other physicians had treated certain patients when no treatment had been provided. Dr. Salomon and Dr. Minnis then prepared false progress notes and fee sheets.
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