LOS ANGELES : 4 Doctors Charged With Paying Referral Kickbacks
Four physicians have been charged with paying illegal kickbacks to a medical referral firm under investigation for workers’ compensation fraud.
The physicians allegedly paid for patient referrals from L.A. Management, a former Sherman Oaks firm under investigation for possibly paying kickbacks to get patients from companies that process workers’ compensation claims for some employers and insurers.
The investigation of L.A. Management is unusual because most probes of workers’ compensation fraud target large medical chains that treat employees who have applied for benefits from employers and insurance companies.
Los Angeles City Atty. James Hahn said the four doctors paid up to $250 for each patient seeking a medical examination. The physicians were charged Monday in Los Angeles Municipal Court with from one to six misdemeanor counts.
Charged were Gerald Paul, an orthopedist on the staff of Northridge Hospital Medical Center; Harvey Alpern, a Century City cardiologist; Ivor Harewood, a Los Angeles surgeon, and Dr. Emil Soorani, a Santa Monica psychiatrist.
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