California Department of Industrial Relations and Division of Workers’ Compensation Suspend Fermin Iglesias, Steven Rigler for Fraud By Lonce Lamonte and the California DIR Newsline - August 8, 2017
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and its Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) have suspended two more medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ compensation system.
DWC Acting Administrative Director George Parisotto issued Orders of Suspension for the following providers:
Fermin Iglesias, a provider of durable medical equipment based in Glendale, pled guilty to federal charges of participating in a fraud scheme in which injured workers were referred to specific doctors in exchange for kickbacks.
Steven Rigler, a chiropractor in San Diego, was one of the providers participating in Iglesias’ kickback scheme. He pled guilty to fraud charges in federal court.
AB 1244 (Gray and Daly) requires the DWC Administrative Director to suspend any medical provider, physician or practitioner from participating in the workers’ compensation system in cases in which one or more of the following is true:
The provider has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving fraud or abuse of the Medi-Cal or Medicare programs or the workers’ compensation system, fraud or abuse of a patient, or related types of misconduct;
The provider has been suspended due to fraud or abuse from the Medicare or Medicaid (including Medi-Cal) programs; or
The provider’s license or certificate to provide health care has been surrendered or revoked.