2 acquitted in fraud case
Chiropractor, lawyer were accused of trying to cheat insurance companies


Published: 2009-03-24 09:07:20
Author: Jon Murray, Indianapolis Star, September 26, 2008

An Indianapolis chiropractor and an attorney were acquitted of all charges early Thursday morning in an insurance fraud case.

Robert A. Ekin, 39, had disputed accusations that now-defunct Midtown Chiropractic falsely billed insurance companies between 2003 and 2006 for tests and services never performed on clients involved in auto accidents.

The verdicts followed a three-day trial in Marion Superior Court and more than 14 hours of deliberation by the jury.

Ekin's wife, Angelica Ekin, called the outcome a "glorious victory."

The second defendant, Indianapolis attorney David M. Wood, 50, was accused of drafting a letter to an insurance company on behalf of a Midtown client he had never met. But Wood's attorney, David Lewis, told jurors the client had misused another person's identity, leading to a misunderstanding by prosecutors.

Ekin's attorney, Bryan Cook, told jurors that Midtown performed all the billed services, but the insurance companies resisted paying. The trial began Monday in Judge Tanya Walton Pratt's courtroom.

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