Plastic Surgeon Pleads Guilty To Health Insurance Fraud

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA - A Rancho Mirage cosmetic surgeon pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to a scheme to defraud health insurance companies by billing them for tummy tucks, nose jobs and breast enlargements while claiming they were medically necessary.

Dr. David M. Morrow, 71, who is also a dermatologist and owner of the Morrow Institute, submitted bills for more than $3.4 million for the cosmetic procedures, according to Thom Mrozek of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Morrow admitted that he "participated in a scheme to obtain money from insurance companies by false or fraudulent pretenses, which included submitting altered
documents to the insurance companies,'' according to Mrozek.

"Insurance companies provide a valuable service by providing financial support in a time of medical need -- they are not designed to dispense cash to unscrupulous medical providers,'' said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. "Medical professionals who defraud an insurance provider hurt every person who is forced to pay higher premiums.''

Morrow, who also pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return for 2008, admitted that he failed to report to more than $100,000 of income on the return and more than $1.5 million on his 2009 tax return.

Morrow was charged last fall when a federal grand jury returned a 27-count indictment against him.

Prosecutors had alleged that patients were promised their procedures would be paid for by their health insurance plans. Among the companies victimized were Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of California, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Regional Employer/Employee Partnership for Benefits, formerly known as Riverside Employer/Employee Partnership (REEP), and Cigna.

Morrow and others at the institute fabricated symptoms, test results and diagnoses as part of the scheme, Mrozek said.

For example, tummy tucks were billed as hernia repair or abdominal reconstruction surgeries, nose jobs as deviated septum repairs and breast lifts and augmentations as breast deformity corrections.

One insurer was billed over $150,000 for a single procedure, Mrozek said.

"Dr. Morrow enriched himself by cheating policy holders and victim companies whose employees and ability to continue operating were placed in jeopardy as a result of this fraud,'' said David Bowdich, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "The FBI devotes many resources to combating health care fraud and
seeking justice for victims who can suffer a variety of consequences beyond financial loss.''

Morrow, who has agreed to pay full restitution to the victims, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and three years for filing the false tax
return. He is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton on September 23.

Charges against his wife, 63-year-old Linda Morrow, are pending.

--City News Service