12/19/2017
by Paula McMahonContact Reporter
Sun Sentinel
One of the ringleaders of a massive $23 million auto insurance fraud pleaded guilty this week to his role in an elaborate crime ring that operated at several South Florida chiropractic clinics.
Felix Filenger, who agents said drove around in a Bentley and doled out kickbacks from a suitcase stuffed with cash, faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in federal prison. He has been locked up since October.
Prosecutors said he was one of the leaders of a profitable group of corrupt clinic owners, chiropractors and attorneys that operated mostly in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. The fraud raked in at least $23 million from 10 auto insurance companies between 2010 and earlier this year, according to court records.
Filenger, 41, of Sunny Isles, pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy on Monday in federal court in Miami.
The fraud involved ripping off auto insurance providers by illegally billing for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance funds under Florida’s no-fault law, according to his plea agreement.
Filenger admitted he, and others, paid kickbacks of $1,500 to $2,000 – per patient – to tow truck drivers and body shop workers who agreed to illegally steer accident victims to chiropractic clinics that were secretly owned by Filenger and his allies. Some of the “patients” were also steered to attorneys who told them they might be able to receive compensation from the insurance companies.
The idea was to use people who had access to supposedly confidential crash reports to refer drivers and passengers to the clinics and require them to seek unnecessary and excessive treatment, investigators said.
Once the “patients” started attending the clinic, workers were instructed to make them attend multiple times, exaggerate their pain levels and quickly bill insurance providers the maximum $10,000 allowed for rapid emergency treatment under Florida law.
Two co-defendants, who are still scheduled for trial that day, may plead guilty to related charges on Wednesday, court records show.
Andrew Rubinstein, 48, of Miami, is jailed on charges of racketeering and mail fraud conspiracies, wire fraud, health care fraud, and making false statements.
Olga Spivak, 59, a chiropractor from Hollywood, is free on bond. She faces the same charges.
Federal prosecutors say Filenger and Rubinstein took over troubled clinics and hid their ownership by having chiropractors and other people register the practices in their names. Both men moved to South Florida from Ukraine and became U.S. citizens more than 20 years ago, according to investigators.
Filenger’s attorney, Michael Tein, told a judge earlier this year that the FBI investigation started with a theory that the ringleaders were part of the Russian mob. Prosecutors declined to comment and never filed any such allegations in court.
“The plea closes a difficult chapter and allows Felix and his family to move forward with their lives,” Tein said Tuesday. He declined to make any further comment.
The men told chiropractors what treatments they wanted performed, based on the financial cost return, prosecutors said. Medical staff who refused to “play ball” were fired, they said.
When patients said they didn’t want to attend the 15 or so sessions many were required to undergo, an attorney or someone else would be assigned to tell them they had to continue showing up if they wanted to try to collect money by filing a lawsuit or insurance claim.
No patients were criminally charged in the federal indictment but investigators said some of them may have tried to claim compensation.
One of the “runners” who recruited patients told investigators he had referred about 750 people to the corrupt clinics and that he was paid as much as $2,000 per referral, prosecutors said. He estimated he was paid more than $1 million, much of it in cash over several years.
In related cases:
Linda Varisco, 55, of Coral Springs, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy commit mail, wire and health care fraud and one count of making false statements in connection with health benefits. She is scheduled for sentencing in January.
Richard Yonover, 66, of Lake Worth, who owned chiropractic clinics in Oakland Park and Margate, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail, wire and health care fraud. He is scheduled for sentencing in March.
Jason Dalley, 54, an attorney who lives in Boca Raton and practices in Delray Beach, has pleaded not guilty to related charges. He is free on bond and is scheduled for trial next month in Fort Lauderdale. Dalley is accused of paying more than $1 million to solicit clients and refer them to the clinics.