Long Island Chiropractor Sentenced to Prison for Health Care Fraud

 

Defendant Billed an Insurance Company over $1 Million for Acupuncture Services That Were Never Provided

 Peter Adamczak, a licensed chiropractor operating in East Meadow, Long Island, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert in federal court in Central Islip to a year and a day in prison for health care fraud.  As part of that sentence, Judge Seybert ordered Adamczak to pay nearly $1 million in restitution and to forfeit over $180,000.  Adamczak had billed a private insurance company over $1 million for acupuncture services that were never performed.  The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge in August 2022.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Lucy Lang, Inspector General of New York State, announced the sentence.

“Today’s sentence demonstrates that Adamczak’s long-running scheme, in which he brazenly submitted false and fraudulent billing claims to an insurance provider, ultimately came at a personal cost to the defendant,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “This Office will continue to hold accountable dishonest healthcare professionals who abuse the trust placed in them by lying and cheating in order to line their own pockets.” 

“Health insurance fraud is not a victimless crime as it increases the cost of coverage for those who need it most and wastes precious medical resources,” state New York State Inspector General Lang.  “I want to thank the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace for delivering justice on this case and to the OIG staff who worked on exposing this audacious scheme.”   

From 2016 to 2020, Adamczak submitted over $1 million in fraudulent claims for reimbursement to a private insurance company.  Adamczak was not licensed to perform acupuncture but claimed that the services were performed by an unaffiliated acupuncturist who leased office space from Adamczak.  In reality, neither the unaffiliated acupuncturist nor Adamczak performed the billed acupuncture services.  Based on Adamczak’s fraudulent claims, the private insurance company paid reimbursements to its beneficiaries who, in turn, delivered the payments to Adamczak.  In one case, a beneficiary who was a relative of Adamczak, deposited the reimbursement checks to their personal bank account and kept the funds.