LV homes raided in Calif. fraud probe

Thursday, June 19, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- As part of a California-based investigation into a $2 million to $3 million insurance fraud case, two homes and a storage shed were raided in Las Vegas on Wednesday in a search for records, computer data and other information.

Ten investigators from the state attorney general's office accompanied California agents in searching the homes near Blue Diamond and in Summerlin.

Deputy Attorney General Laurel Duffy said residents were in the homes at the time of the searches but that no arrests were made. She said the addresses of the homes could not be revealed because the search warrants are sealed. She said the homes were large, containing up to 3,800 square feet. Kathy Scholz, bureau chief of the California Department of Insurance Fraud Division, said the investigation stems from search warrants that were served in January at chiropractic offices and residences in the Sacramento area. About 2,700 patient files, as well as X-rays, computer equipment and file cabinets were seized in those raids.

The California fraud unit said evidence from the January raids indicated that an attorney sent customers to a chiropractor in the area. The chiropractor billed the patients' insurance companies, and a percentage of the receipts were forwarded to a separate company involved in the alleged illegal kickback-referral scheme.

Officials with the California fraud division said the firm of Baldini & DePaoli Chiropractic, headquartered in the Sacramento area, is under investigation for overbilling. It said the Sacramento County district attorney's office will handle any prosecution.