Florida Man Pretended To Be Morris Co. Doctor In $1M Scheme: AG

DENVILLE, NJ — A Florida man faces fraud and theft charges after pretending to be a Morris County doctor and defrauding insurance companies out of $1 million, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

Yoandi Marrero, 33, of Hialeah, Florida was charged with insurance fraud and attempted theft by deception, theft by deception, and identity theft in an indictment handed down by a state grand jury in Trenton on Tuesday. The fake company he allegedly used, PA Clinical Center, Inc., was also charged.

Marrero allegedly used the personal information of a Hudson County doctor and a fake Denville address to establish the PA Clinical Center, Inc. According to Grewal, Marrero used that information to bill United Healthcare Insurance Company for a variety of physical therapy services totaling $1 million, despite the practice not existing. The Denville address he used currently leads to a storage unit.

The practice allegedly used real names and insurance plans, which lead to a confused United Healthcare customer raising a red flag.

"The scheme was uncovered when a United Healthcare member claimed a doctor had billed her insurance for services that were never rendered. A review of billing records for the doctor and PA Clinical Center led investigators to Marrero, who is listed with the NJ Department of Treasury as PA Clinical’ s registered agent," Grewal said.

Marrero allegedly submitted $1 million in fraudulent claims, and received $46,000 in payouts.

“Insurance fraud is a reprehensible crime but it’s even worse when criminals cloak themselves in the identities of unsuspecting, law-abiding citizens to commit their illegal acts, as this defendant allegedly did,” said Attorney General Grewal. “We will vigorously investigate and prosecute anyone who blatantly exploits the privacy of others in order to steal benefits from insurance providers.”

Image via Shutterstock, NJAG