Newhall chiropractor one of 15 charged in $6 million car insurance fraud, kickback scheme

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A Newhall chiropractor was one of 15  chiropractors charged in a $6 million insurance fraud and illegal kickback scheme involving medical claims made on car crashes, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced today.

Robin Stacy Long, 50, of Newhall, was arrested in the operation with bail set at $200,000.  Prosecutors, in their felony complaint, list a maximum sentence for Long of 10 years and six months in prison, if convicted.

The felony complaint lists a total of 18 felony counts, including charges against all of the defendants of insurance fraud and participating in patient referral rebates when licensed in the healing arts or as a chiropractor.

Most of the defendants were arrested in a sweep carried out Thursday and are expected to be arraigned on Monday in Department 30 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

The case filed on April 26.

Prosecutors identified the alleged ringleader of the operation as 47-year-old Yury Chernega of Studio City, who faces four counts each of the aforementioned charges as well as four counts of failure to file income tax return and one count of money laundering.

The charges include allegations of taking more than $500,000 from about 30 insurance companies through fraud and embezzlement, DA spokesman Paul Eakins said Friday.

Chernega faces a possible maximum sentence of 18 years and nine months in state prison if convicted as charged.  Prosecutors are requesting that his bail be set at $325,000.

Chernega’s alleged co-conspirators are from various places in Los Angeles County including Beverly Hills, Sherman Oaks, Yorba Linda and Irvine.

From 2015 to 2018, Chernega allegedly offered to refer new patients to other chiropractors in return for an illegal referral fee, through which he collected about $6 million, prosecutors said.

The patients allegedly had been involved in car crashes.

The defendants also are accused of filing false claims for medical services they never provided.

Additionally, Chernega allegedly didn’t report the income from the illegal kickbacks on his taxes, prosecutors said.

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661-287-5527

On Twitter @jamesarthurholt

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