Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP) today announced that a Middlesex County physical therapist has been charged with health care claims fraud and theft by deception for allegedly billing insurance providers for patient treatments that were never rendered.
Marina Dreytser, who owns the A&M Physical Therapy clinic in Old Bridge and the AM Physical Therapy clinic in Edison, was indicted by a state grand jury on 16 counts of second-degree health care claims fraud and three counts of third-degree theft by deception in connection with 16 false claims she allegedly submitted to numerous insurance carriers between June and October of 2014.
The 43-year-old Marlboro resident allegedly submitted fraudulent claims totaling $24,485 for physical therapy treatments purportedly performed by herself or another practitioner at her clinic. According to the indictment, those treatments were never rendered, including those that Dreytser claimed to have performed during a two-week period when she was vacationing in Peru.
The claims were submitted to Aetna Health Plans, Allstate Insurance Company, Cigna, Cigna Health Plans, GEICO, Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of New Jersey, Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina, New Jersey Medicare, and United Healthcare.
The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $150,000; third-degree crimes carry a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $15,000.
Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Iu noted that some important cases have started with anonymous tips. People who are concerned about insurance cheating and have information about a fraud can report it anonymously by calling the toll‑free hotline at 1‑877‑55‑FRAUD, or visiting the Web site at www.NJInsurancefraud.org. State regulations permit a reward to be paid to an eligible person who provides information that leads to an arrest, prosecution and conviction for insurance fraud.