$15,000 in False Insurance Claims : Phobia Therapist Admits Role in Scam

A Granada Hills psychotherapist pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that he and a chiropractor filed more than $15,000 in false claims for the treatment of an unusual phobia.

Donald Dossey, 54, was originally charged with conspiracy to defraud the insurance company, but in an agreement with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of making fictitious statements to an insurance company, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Janice L. Maurizi.

Dossey treated Chatsworth chiropractor James Francis Dorobiala, 47, for a fear of driving that Dorobiala said he developed after he was in a minor automobile accident in Hawaii in July, 1984, according to court records. Symptoms of Dorobiala’s phobia included stomach pains, diarrhea and lack of bladder control when getting into cars.

Dossey began treating Dorobiala at his Beverly Hills phobia clinic in August, 1984. Dossey’s treatment consisted of counseling and instructing Dorobiala to “face his fears” by driving alone on the freeway, Dorobiala said.

The weekly treatments continued through November, 1987, Maurizi said. After that, Dorobiala was treated twice a month and later once a month out of Dossey’s home, she said. But the billings continued as if treatments were occurring on a weekly basis.

Farmer’s Insurance Group, which paid more than $30,000 in claims, alleges that more than half of that amount represented false billings for sessions that never occurred, Maurizi said.

Dorobiala said he billed the insurance company for weekly counseling sessions conducted over the telephone with Dossey and also for time spent driving on the freeway alone.

When Farmer’s investigators asked Dorobiala for treatment records, Maurizi said, Dorobiala asked Dossey to sign 200 blank billing forms that he later sent to the insurance company.

Maurizi said Dossey told insurance company investigators that he conspired with his client because he was intimidated by him.

Dossey, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18, faces a maximum sentence of a year in County Jail and $10,000 in fines, Maurizi said.

Dorobiala pleaded guilty in August to misdemeanor insurance fraud charges and was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to reimburse the $15,000 to the insurance company.