Coto De Caza Chiropractor Charged In $6 Million Fraud Scheme

COTO DE CAZA, CA — A Coto De Caza chiropractor was among 15 chiropractors charged in a $6 million insurance fraud and kickback scheme involving car crash medical claims, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.

The complaint lists a total of 18 felony counts, including insurance fraud and participating in patient referral rebates when licensed in the healing arts or as a chiropractor, prosecutors said. Most of the defendants were arrested in a sweep Thursday and are expected to be arraigned on May 6.

The alleged ringleader of the operation, 47-year-old Yury Chernega, of Studio City, faces four additional counts of failure to file income tax returns and one count of money laundering, the District Attorney's Office said. The charges include allegations of taking more than $500,000 from about 30 insurance companies through fraud and embezzlement.

Chernega allegedly offered to refer new patients involved in car crashes to other chiropractors in return for an illegal referral fee through which he collected about $6 million from 2015 through 2018, prosecutors said.

The chiropractors also are accused of filing false claims for medical services they never provided, the press release said. Plus, Chernega allegedly didn't report the income from the illegal kickbacks on his taxes, prosecutors said.

Chernega faces a possible maximum sentence of 18 years and nine months in state prison if convicted as charged, the press release. Prosecutors are requesting that his bail be set at $325,000.

The alleged co-conspirators, with their recommended bail and possible maximum prison sentence are:

• Michael Milman (dob 3/26/66) of Beverly Hills: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison
• John Sherf (dob 8/28/75) of Sherman Oaks: $200,000 bail, 18 years and six months in prison
• Jae Ho Park (dob 4/26/68) of Coto de Caza: $225,000 bail, 11 years and six months in prison
• Danush Haghani (dob 1/9/73) of Yorba Linda: $225,000 bail, 11 years and six months in prison
• Kamron Nourgostar (dob 7/15/83) of Irvine: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison
• David Wayne Ginoza (dob 5/15/64) of Torrance: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison
• Alan P. Grubstein (dob 2/27/50) of Rancho Cucamonga: $225,000 bail, 11 years and six months in prison
• Kamiar Riahi (dob 8/8/74) of Woodland Hills: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison
• Sam Amirmoazzami (dob 12/11/73) of Encino: $225,000 bail, 11 years and six months in prison
• Robin Stacy Long (dob 5/19/68) of Newhall: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison
• Ramin Lavi (dob 7/21/63) of Chatsworth: $225,000 bail, 11 years and six months in prison
• Gustavo Adolfo Nino (dob 3/17/64) of Pasadena: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison
• Nahid Haji Acs (dob 2/23/57) of Rancho Cucamonga: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison
• Victoria Davidovsky Lucas (dob 9/1/68) of Pacific Palisades: $200,000 bail, 10 years and six months in prison

The case remains under investigation by the District Attorney's Office, Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the California Department of Insurance, the California Franchise Tax Board, the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the press release said.