When you visit your doctor to obtain a diagnosis for the full extent of your work injury and to receive the proper treatment for maximum recovery, the last thing on your mind is being taken advantage of. However, it has occurred to more than 13,000 patients in Orange County, costing them $40 million in workers’ compensation insurance.
Last month, Orange County authorities uncovered the scam led by alleged masterminds Christopher (38) and Tanya King (37). The couple owns medical billing and medical management companies Monarch Medical Group, King Medical Management, and One Source Laboratories.
Authorities said the couple orchestrated a complex insurance fraud in which they recruited doctors and pharmacists to prescribe unnecessary treatments for workers’ comp patients. The Kings, along with 21 physicians, one physician assistance, and two pharmacists, face a series of felony charges including insurance fraud, filing false and fraudulent claims, as well as conspiracy to commit medical insurance fraud.
Prosecutors alleged that, from 2011 through 2015, the Kings billed patients creams, treatments, and tests that were not required for their patients in order to obtain profits. Authorities determined about $23.2 million was paid to the couple.
The following are the alleged schemes led by the Kings:
- Medication Kickback Scam – The couple is accused of purchasing repackaged oral pain medicines from outfits in Orange County. The Kings would then send the medications to the physicians, who would prescribe them, and billed workers’ comp carriers without informing them of the costs at wholesale. The couple and the doctors would then split the profits.
- Snake Oil Scam – The Kings are accused of working with co-defendants Charles Bonner (56) and Mervyn Miller (66), who are the owners of Steven’s Pharmacy located in Costa Mesa, to manufacture creams that were not FDA approved and “did nothing.” The couple paid $15 to $40 per tube of cream and billed insurance companies $250 to $700 per tube.
- Fake Urine Test Scam – The couple allegedly provided technical staff to cooperating doctors’ offices for unnecessary urine tests. The tests were then sent to a lab for more testing despite the results. Each test was worth $60 flat rate but workers’ comp carriers were billed hundreds of dollars.
Tanya King faces up to 117 years in prison, while the two pharmacists face up to 28 years. Each physician faces up to 25 years. However, it was unknown how much time Christopher King will spend in prison.
If you believe that your physician is overcharging you and taking advantage of your workers’ compensation benefits, contact Wax & Wax, A Law Corporation and request a free case evaluation with our Glendale workers’ comp lawyers today.
