Preston E. Forthun, Chiropractor, Accused of Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud Schemes in Minnesota
A Minnesota chiropractor, Preston E. Forthun, 39, of Bloomington, has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and 13 counts of mail fraud in connection with alleged multi-million dollar health care fraud conspiracies.
According to the charging documents, Forthun, along with other chiropractors, engaged in schemes to defraud automobile insurance companies by submitting fraudulent no-fault insurance claims for chiropractic services that were not medically necessary or were never rendered.
The chiropractors involved in the scheme would submit claims and receive reimbursements for services that were designed to maximize reimbursement from the patients’ automobile insurance companies. In some cases, the chiropractors would make illegal payments to ‘runners’ who brought patients into their offices, and the runners would pay kickbacks to the patients to keep them coming back for medically unnecessary appointments.
Some of the charged chiropractors would conceal the kickback payments in various ways, including writing checks to runners and falsely describing them on the memo lines as payments for services such as ‘transportation’ or ‘marketing’.
The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau and the FBI, with assistance from the Minneapolis Police Department, Saint Paul Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Maria and John E. Kokkinen.
Charged Defendant:
- Defendant: Preston E. Forthun
- Age: 39
- City: Bloomington, Minnesota
- Charges:
- Conspiracy to commit mail fraud, 1 count
- Mail fraud, 13 counts
- Date: December 2016
- Status: Charged
Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Category: Healthcare|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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