2 women to testify against chiropractor in insurance fraud

Saturday, May 01, 2004

Two women waived indictment yesterday in pleading guilty and agreeing to help federal agents in their investigation of a Lower Burrell chiropractic clinic for hundreds of thousands of dollars in alleged insurance fraud.

Judith Williamson, 44, of Spring Street in South Side Slopes, and Marilyn Marshall, 53, of Murrysville, said they cooperated with chiropractor Douglas Henderson in an alleged scheme to defraud Highmark from the mid-1990s through 2002 by submitting false medical bills.

Henderson, owner of Burrell Chiropractic Center on Wildlife Lodge Road, has not been charged, but a civil suit filed last year against him and two employees, Raymond W. Bitar and Alec B. Cirigliano, indicates he has been the target of a federal grand jury investigation.

The suit, filed by State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Co. under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, accuses Henderson and the others of a scheme to submit false and inflated medical bills to State Farm following auto wrecks.

Bitar and Cirigliano denied their involvement in replies to the complaint.

Henderson invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself in a reply, citing a November 2003 letter from the Justice Department saying he was the target of an investigation for "false billing to health insurance and tax fraud."

Williamson and Marshall pleaded guilty yesterday as part of that investigation and agreed to testify against Henderson, who has been a chiropractor since 1987.

The women, both single parents who were occasional patients at Burrell Chiropractic, admitted they cooperated with Henderson in submitting bills for fictitious treatment to Highmark.

According to court papers, Henderson also maintained an automotive business in addition to his chiropractic clinic that had a contract with Highmark for a group insurance plan.

Henderson misrepresented that Marshall and Williamson were employees of the auto business so they could submit claims under the group plan for chiropractic care for themselves and their children, according to the pleas.

Williamson said Henderson paid her $46,564 for her help in submitting $316,611 worth of false claims to Highmark. Marshall said she got $58,000 for helping submit $139,995 in false claims.

Both pleaded guilty to a single count of health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Gary Lancaster, who scheduled sentencing for July 30.

The law calls for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but the women won't get anywhere near that much. Both are expecting leniency in exchange