Witnesses testify to chiropractor's Medicaid billing practices
Published: 2009-04-11 17:44:42
Author: Trish Mehaffey, Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 7, 2009
CEDAR RAPIDS — Venia Minor testified today that chiropractor Douglas Dvorak told her he fraudulently billed Medicaid for 20 chiropractor treatments for her daughter, then asked her to tell the Federal Bureau of Investigation, if asked, that he actually treated her daughter.
Dvorak, 45, is on trial in U.S. District Court for mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. He is accused of filing fraudulent Medicaid claims from late 2005 to early 2007.
Minor said she met Dvorak in June 2007 at a friend’s house. The next day he text messaged her, telling her he needed to talk to her in person. She said she didn’t understand what he wanted, but told him to meet her at her workplace. Dvorak then told her he had “seen” her daughter over 20 times. He said he then billed Medicaid for chiropractic visits.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Thornhill asked if Dvorak ever treated her daughter.
“It’s not true," Minor said. "He only saw her that day when I met him.”
Dvorak then asked Minor to tell anyone who asks that he treated her daughter. She asked how he could do that, because he didn’t have her daughter’s Medicaid identification number.
Dvorak said he didn’t need it, Minor testified. All he needed was a name and birth date to file a claim.
Kelly Vinzant, former employee of Iowa Medical Enterprise, testified she audited Dvorak’s claims after being alerted of his banking activity by a Wells Fargo service manager. Dvorak was cashing large checks from Medicaid, depositing the checks and then withdrawing the entire amount after a few days.
Vinzant said the most unusual thing she discovered was the increase in Dvorak’s patients’ visits. He went from seeing six patients a day to 65 on a Thanksgiving Day in 2005, she said. She noticed the volume because most providers can’t see that many patients in one day. Sixty-five patients “seemed improbable,” she said.
Benita Messer, a service manager with Wells Fargo Bank in Cedar Rapids, testified she thought it was suspicious that Dvorak brought in large dollar amount checks to cash. She said it was unusual because of the dollar amounts and for a doctor to bring in his own transactions.
Full story
Published: 2009-04-11 17:44:42
Author: Trish Mehaffey, Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 7, 2009
CEDAR RAPIDS — Venia Minor testified today that chiropractor Douglas Dvorak told her he fraudulently billed Medicaid for 20 chiropractor treatments for her daughter, then asked her to tell the Federal Bureau of Investigation, if asked, that he actually treated her daughter.
Dvorak, 45, is on trial in U.S. District Court for mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. He is accused of filing fraudulent Medicaid claims from late 2005 to early 2007.
Minor said she met Dvorak in June 2007 at a friend’s house. The next day he text messaged her, telling her he needed to talk to her in person. She said she didn’t understand what he wanted, but told him to meet her at her workplace. Dvorak then told her he had “seen” her daughter over 20 times. He said he then billed Medicaid for chiropractic visits.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Thornhill asked if Dvorak ever treated her daughter.
“It’s not true," Minor said. "He only saw her that day when I met him.”
Dvorak then asked Minor to tell anyone who asks that he treated her daughter. She asked how he could do that, because he didn’t have her daughter’s Medicaid identification number.
Dvorak said he didn’t need it, Minor testified. All he needed was a name and birth date to file a claim.
Kelly Vinzant, former employee of Iowa Medical Enterprise, testified she audited Dvorak’s claims after being alerted of his banking activity by a Wells Fargo service manager. Dvorak was cashing large checks from Medicaid, depositing the checks and then withdrawing the entire amount after a few days.
Vinzant said the most unusual thing she discovered was the increase in Dvorak’s patients’ visits. He went from seeing six patients a day to 65 on a Thanksgiving Day in 2005, she said. She noticed the volume because most providers can’t see that many patients in one day. Sixty-five patients “seemed improbable,” she said.
Benita Messer, a service manager with Wells Fargo Bank in Cedar Rapids, testified she thought it was suspicious that Dvorak brought in large dollar amount checks to cash. She said it was unusual because of the dollar amounts and for a doctor to bring in his own transactions.
Full story