Dow
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow announced Thursday that a pain management center and its owner will pay $88,517 to resolve allegations that it performed chiropractic services without authorization then billed insurance companies.
Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli says that neither the Essex County-based Newark Pain Management & Rehabilitation Center or Daniel Enemuo, its owner-president, were authorized to perform chiropractic services on patients. The defendants, however, did so anyway from approximately July 2003-Nov. 2004.
Under New Jersey law, corporations are prohibited from providing chiropractic services to patients if the corporation is owned by unlicensed individuals.
Newark Pain Management and Enemuo, under terms of the settlement, admitted to causing false and/or misleading claims to be provided to insurance companies through their failure to disclose that Newark Pain Management was not authorized to provide chiropractic services. The defendants also admitted to violating the New Jersey Insurance Fraud Prevention Act.
As part of the settlement, the defendants will pay a $75,000 civil penalty, $7,347 in reimbursement of the state's attorneys' fees and $6,170 in restitution to State Farm Insurance.
The original lawsuit against Newark Pain Management and Enemuo was filed in April 2009 in Superior Court by attorneys for the Division of Law on behalf of the New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor. As part of the lawsuit, the state previously settled with a third defendant.
Dr. Delores Ensley of Newark paid a $10,000 civil penalty in 2009 and admitted that, for three months, she had treated patients at Newark pain Management after the expiration of her chiropractic license.
Dr. Ensley's actions caused claims to be submitted to insurance carriers. She also admitted to violating the New Jersey Insurance Fraud Prevention Act.