LI Doctor Defrauded Insurance Company Of Millions: US Attorney

A Long Island chiropractor, now living in Texas, was arrested on Monday and charged with defrauding an insurance company of more than $2 million over more than a decade.

According to prosecutors, Raymond R. Pellegrino, 50, of McKinney, Texas, defrauded Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield out of more than $2 million by billing for services that were never performed. He was arrested in Texas and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York after he is extradited.

“Pellegrino abused his position as a licensed medical professional by brazenly stealing millions of dollars in fraudulent billings,” stated United States Attorney Richard Donoghue. “Today’s arrest demonstrates the resolve of this Office and the FBI to hold accountable health care fraudsters who line their pockets at the expense of insurance companies and, ultimately, consumers, who pay the cost of higher premiums.”

Pellegrino operated chiropractic offices in West Hempstead and Hicksville. According to Donoghue, he hired doctors for part-time work and then billed Anthem Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield under the taxpayer identification numbers of those doctors for work that was never performed. Between December 2003 and September 2014, Donoghue said Pellegrino had defrauded the company of more than $2 million.

“Defrauding our healthcare system, regardless of the amount of money stolen or nature of the crime, eventually harms all of us,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are aggressively searching out practitioners, suppliers and fraudsters to stop their illegal behavior, and keep the bills we each pay from ballooning out of control.”

If he is convicted of the charges of health care fraud, Pellegrino faces up to 10 years in prison.

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