Feds: Fake Philadelphia chiropractor made $1.1 million in false claims

From http://www.philly.com/
The Philadelphia Inquirer

July 27, 2011
Staff Report, Inquirer Staff Writer

A man operating a Center City holistic healing clinic has been indicted on charges of not only tricking patients into believing he was a chiropractor, but also submitting claims for treatments he never carried out.

Tahib Smith Ali, 34, is charged with 150 counts of health care fraud, filing false medical statements, and aggravated identity theft.

Ali, of Northeast Philadelphia, turned himself into federal authorities this morning and was ordered to surrender his passport and a hunting rifle at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Timothy Rice.

Rice released Ali on a recognizance bond of $50,000 and continued the case until next week, when Ali said his attorney will be available.

Prosecutors say Ali submitted bills to Independence Blue Cross between 2009 and 2010 as he was posing as a chiropractor and physical therapist.

He then submitted claims, using the name of a licensed chiropractor who once owned the clinic on the posh 300 block of South 17th Street, the indictment says. But Ali, who was not licensed, had purchased the clinic in December, 2008.

The indictment alleges that starting in January, 2009, Ali began billing for services that were either not provided, or for patient visits that never occurred.

Prosecutors say he presented himself to patients as a chiropractor, going so far as to wear scrubs, while performing spinal manipulations and muscle stretches.

In all, the indictment said, he submitted more than $1 million in claims. Authorities say he went so far as to hire a real chiropractor. He would then submit bills in his own name for work carried out by the real chiropractor, according to the indictment.

Ali faces a mandatory sentence of 2 years in prison for each aggravated identity theft count, a statutory maximum of 10 years for each health care fraud count, and five years for each count false statements count, plus up to $25 million in fines.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney M. Beth Leahy.


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Nathan Gorenstein contributed to this article.
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