Chicago-area chiropractor hit with 7-year federal prison sentence for nearly $11 million fraud scheme

A northern Illinois chiropractor, his father and brother have pleaded guilty and will serve time in federal prison for a phony billing scheme that robbed insurance carriers of more than $10 million, the Department of Justice has announced.

Chiropractor Vladimir Gordon, Jr., his father Vladimir Gordon, Sr. and Alexsander Gordin, his brother pleaded guilty earlier this year and were sentenced this week for their roles. Vladimir Jr. received the longest sentence of seven years. Vladimir Sr.  and Alexsander were both sentenced to two years.

According to the DOJ, the trio operated Gordin Medical Center, a chiropractic clinic in Wheeling, and used it to falsely bill carriers for medical services that were either not needed or never rendered. Authorities said they also tried to cover up the scheme by fabricating patients' medical records.

"In some cases, patients knew of the overbilling and were incentivized to participate by having their deductibles met at no cost to them, or by sharing in a portion of the overbilling proceeds via checks provided to them by Gordin Jr. and Gordin Sr," the DOJ said.

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The scheme ran from 2006 to approximately November 2012, and also involved an ultrasound service known as Ultrasound Mobile Service. Together, the clinic and service submitted fraudulent bills totaling $28,775,000, causing a loss to five carriers of $10,847,000, including union health and welfare funds in the Chicago area.

The owner of the ultrasound service pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud, admitting to falsely billing insurance companies for services and kicking back some of the proceeds to the Gordins. A judge imposed a nine month sentence.

Gordin Medical Center's office manager also pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud for falsifying documents, and was sentenced to 18 months probation, including some weekend incarceration.

Twitter: @BethJSanborn