Two Minnesota chiropractors have been sentenced to prison for their roles in separate multimillion-dollar insurance scams.
Adam John Burke, 34, was sentenced to 90 months in prison, while Preston Ellar Forthun, 40, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, according to the Minnesota Commerce Department. Both were convicted in separate trials last year. Burke was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and 12 counts of mail fraud. Forthun was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud and seven counts of wire fraud. Their cases were a result of investigations conducted by the FBI and the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau.
Authorities said that Forthun and Burke devised separate schemes to bilk auto insurance companies by hiring patient recruiters to solicit accident victims to get treatments at their clinics. Forthun and Burke paid the recruiters for each patient they recruited, and the recruiters generally paid the patients to attend sessions. Both scams were designed to maximize their clinics’ billings to insurance companies, and each chiropractor billed insurers for millions of dollars, according to the Minnesota Commerce Department.
“These chiropractors put personal greed above their professional duty,” said Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Jessica Looman. “These sentences send a strong message that health insurance fraud is a serious crime and those who perpetrate it will be investigated and prosecuted. The Commerce Fraud Bureau will continue to aggressively pursue criminals who scam Minnesotans.”
