No Criminal Charges for Van Nuys Doctor

Criminal charges will not be filed against a Van Nuys physician who was suspected of filing false or fraudulent Medi-Cal claims during 1982 and 1983, according to state authorities.

Although investigators from the state attorney general’s office said they could not find sufficient evidence to press criminal charges against Dr. Irving Lipton, they said his records and files will be turned over to the state Board of Medical Quality Assurance and the state Department of Health for possible action. The material includes about $4,000 in allegedly inaccurate billings.

An affidavit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by state investigators said Lipton conducted a “continuing scheme of submitting false or fraudulent Medi-Cal claims.” The affidavit quoted a state medical consultant who had studied Lipton’s billing records and concluded it was “impossible” for the physician to have performed all of the medical services he claimed to have done on 115 days over a six-month period.

Louis Fuentes, senior special investigator with the state attorney general’s Medi-Cal bureau, said state health authorities could order Lipton to reimburse the Medi-Cal fund for all or part of the allegedly inaccurate claims. The Board of Medical Quality Assurance, which licenses physicians, would also review the claims, he said.