Psychologist pleads guilty in comp fraud scheme

A clinical psychologist in Marina Del Rey, California, is scheduled to be sentenced in October after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a scheme involving Skype sessions with injured workers and fraudulent billing, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced Monday.

Investigators say John Thomas Terrence, 75, saw patients in Bakersfield, California, using the Internet video chat program and generated reports for each patient that were virtually word-for-word identical, and then submitted identical bills to workers compensation insurance companies, according to a press statement. Court documents reveal his enterprise operated as Mindwaves Psychological Services Inc.

Co-defendants Bhahar Gharib-Danesh, 41, of Woodland Hills, California, and Na Young Eoh, 44, of Bakersfield were chiropractors working at Pain Free Diagnostics Inc. They previously pleaded guilty to health care fraud charges in this case. The three defendants also admitted to assisting in submitting bills to workers compensation insurers for medical-legal evaluations for which they were not legally permitted to bill, according to the press statement. Overall, the scheme involved $1.2 million in fraudulent charges, according to the statement.

It is unclear whether the clinics are closed.

Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the statement.