Kern County Doctor And Consorts Indicted On 21 Felony Counts. Authorities Say He Conspired To Defraud Insurers Out Of 95 Million Dollars. By Lonce LaMon - June 13, 2012
A Bakersfield doctor, Dr. Tomas Rios, and a team of chiropractors and office staffers have been indicted by a Kern County, California, grand jury on 21 felony charges. Authorities are presently working on extraditing Rios out of the Philippines and say he conspired to defraud insurance companies out of roughly 95 million dollars.
The chiropractors were paid kickbacks to refer patients for fraudulent and unnecessary medical tests by Dr. Rios and a Fresno chiropractor, Dolphus Pierce, who ran P&R Medical. They then paid a team of medical doctors to see patients at the chiropractic clinics.
Apart from the criminal charges, Allstate Insurance Company is suing for four million dollars.
State fraud investigators say the chiropractors were paid 350 dollars to refer between seven and thirty patients per month to P&R Medical for administering unnecessary and excessive treatments.