芝加哥郊区咨询中心老板等六人被起诉：被指虚报1900万美元心理治疗费
美国伊利诺伊北区联邦检察官办公室10月21日宣布，芝加哥郊区一家咨询中心的老板与另外五人被联邦大陪审团起诉，被指在长达15年的时间里向一家私人保险公司提交至少1900万美元的虚假心理治疗索赔。
起诉书称，Brenda Copeland 经营的 All Types Counseling Services 在芝加哥西南郊设有办公室，对外提供抑郁、成瘾等心理咨询服务。检方指控，自2010年至2025年，Copeland 与该中心的办公室经理 Samuel Carlson 以及四名所谓的患者合谋，向 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois 提交根本没有提供过的心理治疗服务的索赔。这四名所谓的患者先把自己的医保信息交给 Copeland 与 Carlson，供其提交虚假索赔；作为交换，Copeland 与 Carlson 把保险公司赔付的一部分分给他们。这些人还招募其他人冒充患者，以同样方式换取分成。
起诉书称，被告共提交了1900万美元的欺诈性索赔，保险公司据此向 All Types 支付了超过480万美元。
六名被告分别是：64岁的 Brenda Copeland 与69岁的 Samuel Carlson，均住 Country Club Hills；59岁的 Herbert “Randy” Foster，住 Flossmoor；51岁的 Joseph Iraci，住 New Lenox；42岁的 Anthony Gessert，住 Oak Lawn；37岁的 Henry Saldarriaga-Ochoa，住 Berwyn。六人均被控医疗保健欺诈与共谋医疗保健欺诈两项罪名，联邦法院的提审日期尚未排定。
这份起诉由伊利诺伊北区联邦检察官 Andrew S. Boutros、联邦调查局 FBI 芝加哥外勤办公室负责人 Ryan Whalen、美国劳工部监察长 Anthony P. D’Esposito 等宣布，案件由联邦助理检察官 Kristin Pinkston 负责起诉。检方表示，起诉书只是指控、不是有罪证据，被告在被证明有罪之前推定无罪；医疗保健欺诈与共谋医疗保健欺诈每项罪名最高可判10年联邦监禁。
Suburban Chicago Counseling Center Owner and Five Others Indicted in Alleged $19 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced on October 21 that the owner of a suburban Chicago counseling center and five others have been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly submitting at least $19 million in fraudulent claims to a private insurer for psychotherapy services that were not provided.
According to the indictment, Brenda Copeland operated All Types Counseling Services, which had offices in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and purportedly provided counseling services for conditions such as depression and addiction. The indictment alleges that from 2010 to 2025, Copeland schemed with the company's office manager, Samuel Carlson, and four purported patients to submit false and fraudulent claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for nonexistent psychotherapy services. The purported patients provided their health insurance information to Copeland and Carlson, who used it to submit the false claims; in turn, Copeland and Carlson gave the purported patients a portion of the payments the insurer issued to All Types. The purported patients also recruited others to falsely pose as patients in exchange for similar payments, the indictment states.
In all, the defendants submitted $19 million in fraudulent claims, resulting in more than $4.8 million in payments from the insurer to All Types, according to the indictment.
The defendants are Brenda Copeland, 64, and Samuel Carlson, 69, both of Country Club Hills; Herbert “Randy” Foster, 59, of Flossmoor; Joseph Iraci, 51, of New Lenox; Anthony Gessert, 42, of Oak Lawn; and Henry Saldarriaga-Ochoa, 37, of Berwyn. Each is charged with health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Arraignments in federal court have not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ryan Whalen, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Anthony P. D'Esposito, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Labor, among others. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Pinkston is prosecuting the case. Prosecutors noted that an indictment is not evidence of guilt and that the defendants are presumed innocent; health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud are each punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：位于 Chicago 的 Dirksen 联邦法院大楼，本案起诉书在此所属的伊利诺伊北区联邦法院提交。Ken Lund 摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经维基共享资源。Photo: The Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago, in the Northern District of Illinois, where the indictment was returned. Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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