David Gomez, 53, of San Pedro, has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for masterminding a scheme to defraud the ILWU-Pacific Maritime Association Welfare Plan through fraudulent chiropractic billing. The dockworker and member of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Local 13, was convicted in October on 20 counts of mail fraud and has remained in custody since the jury’s guilty verdict.
Gomez, alongside co-defendant Sergio Amador, operated two clinics under the name Port Medical—one in Long Beach opened in 2009, the second in San Pedro a year later. These clinics billed more than $258,913 in fake services to the union’s health care plan, with $228,440 paid out by the plan. Services were either never rendered or not medically necessary, including repeated chiropractic adjustments and massage therapy for children as young as 5.
The scam relied on forged patient sign-in stickers and falsified medical records. ILWU members were paid incentives—disguised as sponsorships for basketball or softball teams—to visit Port Medical and steer teammates there. These members often signed multiple blank sign-in stickers, which were then used to fabricate treatment logs. When signatures weren’t available, staff forged them outright.
Inside the clinics, massage therapists were instructed to doctor notes to justify billing, told never to write that a patient had ‘no complaints’ and to vary chart entries with the directive: ‘change things up a little!!!’ These manipulations were designed to make fraudulent claims appear legitimate to the ILWU-PMA Welfare Plan, which requires medical necessity for coverage.
At sentencing on January 9 before U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, Gomez was ordered to pay $201,000 in restitution. U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker condemned the betrayal: ‘This defendant managed a fraudulent scheme that targeted a program designed to provide benefits to Gomez’s fellow union members. He was driven by personal greed.’
Amador pleaded guilty last year to one count of mail fraud and awaits sentencing on April 6 before U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the FBI—a joint effort to crack down on corruption within union health plans.
Related Federal Cases
- David Gomez Guilty in $3M Union Health Care Fraud Scheme · Montana
- Tax Fixer Gets 18 Months for $1.2M Fraud Scheme · Alaska
- Cook Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme in Utah · Utah
- Remon Daniel Gets 41 Months for $2M Produce Fraud · Texas
- Dorothy Matsuba Led $30M Mortgage Relief Fraud Scheme · California
Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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