Former Chiropractor Indicted on Health Care Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Charges
| U.S. Attorney’s Office February 13, 2014 |
David Lee Killen, age 42, a resident of Covington, Louisiana, was charged today in a 30-count health care fraud and four-count aggravated identity theft indictment by a federal grand jury for his submission of fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr.
According to the indictment, Killen submitted bills to insurers for chiropractic adjustments, X-rays, and expensive allergy tests and back braces that he never provided. Killen is also charged with billing insurers for back braces at a rate of nearly $1,000 each but actually providing a cheaper substitute to his patients that would not have been reimbursed at the same rate.
The indictment also charges aggravated identity theft for Killen’s alleged use of the medical doctor’s insurance provider numbers in conjunction with his health care fraud scheme. If an insurer would not reimburse certain services when provided by a chiropractor or licensed physical therapist, Killen allegedly billed the service as though it was provided by a medical doctor.
Killen is also alleged to have offered incentives and breaks for patient co-payments to his patients if they would agree to have an expensive allergy blood test for which his cost was $600 but which he was reimbursed for nearly $4,500. The indictment alleges that Killen even billed for a 2-year-old to have the expensive test, although a cheaper pediatric version of the test was available.
If convicted, Killen faces a 10-year term of imprisonment for each of the health care fraud counts, along with two years of imprisonment for each of the aggravated identity theft counts. Killen is also subject to a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Juliana A. Etland.