Authorities in Boca Raton, FL, announced the arrest of Max Louis Citrin for allegedly bilking three health insurers of almost $900,000.
Citrin, 36, was charged with multiple counts of falsifying insurance claims. He is being held at Palm Beach County Jail on $66,000 bond. Attorney information wasn’t available.
According to the arrest report, Citrin’s practice came under investigation in July 2017 after the Department of Financial Services learned that he was allegedly prescribing narcotics to patients without examinations or medical necessity.
In November 2017, two witnesses reportedly told an investigator from the Palm Beach County Sober Homes Task Force that Citrin wrote their boyfriends prescriptions for narcotics in exchange for bringing recovering drug addicts to his practice.
A few days later, two undercover detectives posing as patients went to the doctor’s practice. Citrin gave one of them a prescription for Xanax and told her she needed to get an allergy screening because she was a new patient. The undercover officer never mentioned allergy problems and was never given the results of the test, the report said. Citrin allegedly billed Blue Cross Blue Shield nearly $20,000 for her “allergies” visit and for the “preparation of allergy shots.”
After being alerted by detectives, Blue Cross Blue Shield’s investigators learned that Citrin had submitted 509 claims for allergy diagnosis and treatment over the course of 30 months. A review of 78 patient files revealed the doctor had purportedly copied and pasted similar vital signs, diagnoses, and symptoms on claim forms. The alleged fraudulent claims he made for the 78 patients to Blue Cross Blue Shield totaled $449,666. There are also two other cases of alleged fraud by Citrin against Blue Shield Blue Cross that totaled more than $100,000.
Police obtained a warrant and searched the doctor’s office in March 2018. During the search, they discovered emails between Citrin and a liaison who followed up with insurers over unpaid bills. The liaison told investigators that after reviewing Citrin’s claim forms, he realized many were duplicated, according to the report. The person approached Citrin about it and the doctor allegedly admitted to fabricating the claims and continued the alleged scheme.
In addition to Blue Cross Blue Shield, Citrin is accused of defrauding two other insurance companies: Cigna was defrauded of $185,323 in phony claims for 19 patients between June 2015 and January 2018, and Humana was fraudulently billed $106,770 during the same period.
Insurance fraud is one of the most commonly prosecuted crimes in Florida. Anyone accused of falsifying insurance claims should immediately consult an experienced attorney who can build a strong defense and help you obtain the best possible outcome.
South Florida Fraud Attorney
Accused of committing insurance fraud? Contact Brian Silber, P.A. for a free initial consultation with one of South Florida’s most experienced fraud defense attorneys.
Source: 3.11.20 Boca doctor accused of nearly $900,000 in medical insurance fraud.pdf
