Largest Fraud Case in the Central Valley
By Associated Press - January 7, 2005MODESTO, Calif. (AP) _ A Modesto chiropractor and two of his employees were arrested in what state insurance officials are calling one of the largest fraud cases in the Central Valley.
Wilmer Dorado Origel, a chiropractor who owned and operated Med-1 Medical Center, and employees Rebecca Marie Benedict and Robin Elaine Barney were accused of billing for chiropractic and medical services that were unnecessary, never performed or illegally prescribed, authorities said.
The fraud may have cost insurers more than $10 million, and is believed to have taken place between 1996 and 2004, officials said.
Origel was also the head of Unique Healthcare Management, a billing agency that allegedly sometimes billed two or three times for services performed by Med-1.
Origel also allegedly broke the law by owning a medical clinic. He is a licensed chiropractor, not a medical doctor, and state law requires medical clinics to be majority-owned by a licensed medical doctor, said Norman Williams, spokesman for the state Department of Insurance.
Origel and his employees could spend "substantial time'' in state prison if convicted, said San Joaquin County Supervising Deputy District Attorney J.C. Weydert.
Origel's been charged with 28 felony counts, including insurance fraud, workers compensation fraud and grand theft.
"His operation was very big,'' Weydert said. | 
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