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Chiropractor & Receptionist Connected to Operation Sledgehammer Get Prison Sentencesby Michael A. Rosenberg, Esq. |
Convicted
for their role in a massive insurance fraud ring involving staged
accidents in South Florida, two more people were sentenced in Operation
Sledgehammer last week.
Chiropractor Lawrence Schechtman from Parkland, whom we reported about on our FL-PIP Guide on December 19
when he pleaded guilty to mail fraud conspiracy and mail fraud, was
sentenced to four years and four months in federal prison. In addition
to his sentence, he was ordered by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra to
pay more than $2.4 million in restitution.
According
to federal prosecutors, Schechtman worked at clinics in Palm Springs
and Miami, where he signed off on treatments for people who fraudulently
claimed they were accident victims as part of the staged-accident ring
which operated in several counties.
According to a story in the August 8 Sun-Sentinel,
the 45-year old Schechtman, who suffers from heart and back problems,
was granted a request to serve his confinement at the Federal Medical
Center, a medical prison in North Carolina. Judge Marra gave the
chiropractor two months to turn himself in and begin serving his term.
Another
co-conspirator from Palm Springs was sentenced for her role in
Operation Sledgehammer. Sircy Sacerio, also known as Sisi or Sircy
Santos, received four years in federal prison by Judge Marra.
Under the terms of her sentence, the Palm Beach Post
reported, the 31-year old reception and office assistant must also
repay $1,146,824.26 and will have two years of supervised release
following her time in prison.
She originally pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and five counts of mail fraud.
Part
of the fraud activity in Operation Sledgehammer, which was recorded by
investigators, included co-conspirators damaging vehicles with
sledgehammers to give the appearance of a crash. The participants in the
staged accidents would then go to clinics involved in the ring to
receive bogus treatment which, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office,
brought in millions of dollar to chiropractors on false and fraudulent
insurance claims. The scheme began around October 2006 and continued
through December 2012.
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