JULY 27, 2015
LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) –
Your medical insurance card information is as valuable to con artists as your Social Security number.
It can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, as illustrated in this Rip-Off Alert.
Malentha Robinson-Taylor – a South Carolina office manager at a dentist's office – knew the health care billing system well. It enabled her to orchestrate a false billing scheme using insurance information from several people.
“She recruited them from churches, you know, outdoor events at the community and just asked them for their private information, Social Security number, date of birth, and their insurance card and just asked if they wanted to make some money,” said U.S. Postal Inspector L. Paul King.
At one point, one of the insurance companies targeted became suspicious.
“She submitted the fraudulent claims. The people never went to the dentist office,” King said, “and the insurance company contacted the dentist who said, ‘These people are not patients of mine. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ ”
Robinson-Taylor – along with her husband, Reginald Robinson-Taylor – recruited 22 people and scammed insurers out of more than $360,000.
Postal inspectors say the people involved in the scheme were just interested in the money.
“They didn’t really think they were hurting anybody,” King said. “So they got checks in the mail, they cashed them and gave the office manager 50 percent of the proceeds.”
Malentha Robinson-Taylor was sentenced to more than four years in prison. Her husband almost two years.
Postal inspectors emphasize never to give your personal insurance information to anyone and closely examine their explanation of benefits statements and compare the dates and services to their actual medical and dental appointments.
Health care fraud costs American taxpayers more than $80 billion a year, according to federal officials.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV News3LV) –
Your medical insurance card information is as valuable to con artists as your Social Security number.
It can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, as illustrated in this Rip-Off Alert.
Malentha Robinson-Taylor – a South Carolina office manager at a dentist's office – knew the health care billing system well. It enabled her to orchestrate a false billing scheme using insurance information from several people.
“She recruited them from churches, you know, outdoor events at the community and just asked them for their private information, Social Security number, date of birth, and their insurance card and just asked if they wanted to make some money,” said U.S. Postal Inspector L. Paul King.
At one point, one of the insurance companies targeted became suspicious.
“She submitted the fraudulent claims. The people never went to the dentist office,” King said, “and the insurance company contacted the dentist who said, ‘These people are not patients of mine. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ ”
Robinson-Taylor – along with her husband, Reginald Robinson-Taylor – recruited 22 people and scammed insurers out of more than $360,000.
Postal inspectors say the people involved in the scheme were just interested in the money.
“They didn’t really think they were hurting anybody,” King said. “So they got checks in the mail, they cashed them and gave the office manager 50 percent of the proceeds.”
Malentha Robinson-Taylor was sentenced to more than four years in prison. Her husband almost two years.
Postal inspectors emphasize never to give your personal insurance information to anyone and closely examine their explanation of benefits statements and compare the dates and services to their actual medical and dental appointments.
Health care fraud costs American taxpayers more than $80 billion a year, according to federal officials.