The California Department of Insurance (CDI) arrested a Redding man on six felony counts of insurance fraud, six counts of grand theft and one count of conspiracy.
Richard W. Powell, M.D., 43, was arrested at his office in Redding and booked into the Shasta County Jail. Bail was set at $50,000.
Investigators discovered Powell was allegedly committing medical billing fraud while probing an unrelated fraudulent workers’ compensation claim. Investigators executed a search warrant on Powell’s office in Jan. 2001, and obtained evidence that revealed additional victims.
Powell allegedly hired a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) and instructed the LVN to conduct one-on-one-therapy sessions with some of Powell’s patients. He then billed these sessions to the patients’ insurance company as if he were the one conducting the sessions. By law, LVN’s are not qualified or permitted to conduct one-on-one-therapy sessions.
If convicted, Powell could face up to five years in state prison and/or a maximum fine of $50,000. The Shasta County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.
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